[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 116 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H6923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO FIX LOOPHOLE PREVENTING USE OF LINE-ITEM 
                                  VETO

  (Mr. UPTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I spent most of my August break back in my 
district listening to my constituents, and many were pleased, in fact, 
when the President used for the first time the line-item veto. In fact, 
many wished that the President had had the authority for the disaster 
relief bill that we passed earlier this year, and so many other bills 
in recent years where so many things are tucked away in some of those 
bills that no one hears about them until after they are enacted.
  I support budget reform, and in fact, as part of the Contract with 
America, we included the line-item veto, which passed this House by a 
very large margin, to allow the President to have the line-item veto, 
as well as the 43 other Governors across the country.
  Lo and behold, we have discovered a loophole that causes the line-
item veto to go away.
  I am proud of the bipartisan legislation that we passed here in this 
House that puts us on a solid fiscal footing and, in fact, balances the 
budget by the year 2002. We even have a surplus. But, lo and behold, 
that loophole that we have discovered prevents us from using the line-
item veto despite having a $5\1/2\ trillion national debt.
  We are introducing legislation to fix this, and I would urge my 
colleagues to support it.

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