[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 23 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H1219-H1220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    LINE-ITEM VETO A NECESSARY TOOL

  (Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the line-item 
veto. Opponents of the line-item veto say they believe it would take 
power away from Congress and give it to the President. But I see it as 
a way of taking power away from pork-barrel programs and giving it to 
people who want to cut 
 [[Page H1220]] spending and reduce the deficit, regardless of which 
side of Pennsylvania Avenue they work on, and regardless of which party 
they call home.
  My only regret about the line-item veto we will pass later today is 
that it does not allow the President to veto pork in tax incentive 
programs. There is no difference between a program that appropriates 
$100 million to directly subsidize a certain activity and a tax 
incentive that cuts taxes by $100 million for the same activity. Both 
increase the deficit and neither is available to the average citizen.
  I urge my colleagues to support the line-item veto. It is a good tool 
in the hands of both Republican and Democratic Presidents.


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