[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 LEGISLATIVE LINE ITEM VETO ACT OF 2006--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF 
                 THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 109-94)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following message 
from the President of the United States; which was read and, together 
with the accompanying papers, without objection, referred to the 
Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Rules and ordered to be 
printed:

To the Congress of the United States:
  In my State of the Union Address, I asked the Congress to give the 
President a line item veto. Today, I am sending the Congress a 
legislative proposal to give the President line item authority to 
reduce wasteful spending. This legislation will help to limit spending 
and ensure accountability and transparency in the expenditure of 
taxpayer funds.
  Although the Congress achieved significant spending restraint this 
past year, appropriations and other bills that are sent to my desk 
still contain spending that is not fully justified, is a low priority, 
or is earmarked to avoid the discipline of competitive or merit-based 
reviews. When this legislation is presented to me, I now have no 
ability to line out unnecessary spending. In 1996, the Congress gave 
the President a line item veto--an important tool to limit wasteful 
spending--but the Supreme Court struck down that version of the law in 
1998.
  My proposed legislation, the ``Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 
2006,'' would provide a fast-track procedure to require the Congress to 
vote up-or-down on rescissions proposed by the President. There has 
been broad bipartisan support for similar proposals in the past. Under 
this proposal, the President could propose legislation to rescind 
wasteful spending, and the Congress would be obligated to vote quickly 
on that package of rescissions, without amendment. The same procedure 
would apply to new mandatory spending and to special interest tax 
breaks given to small numbers of individuals.
  Forty-three Governors have a line item veto to reduce spending. The 
President needs similar authority to help control unjustified and 
wasteful spending in the Federal budget. I urge you to promptly 
consider and send me this legislation for enactment to reduce 
unnecessary spending and help achieve my goal of cutting the deficit in 
half by 2009.
                                                        George W. Bush,
The White House, March 6, 2006.

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