[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 20, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H4223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     LINE-ITEM VETO IS A VEILED ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS RECORD DEFICITS

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, this week House 
Republicans will attempt to distance themselves from their 5-year 
record of fiscal irresponsibility when they try to put through a line-
item veto.
  You may remember that President Bush said that he needed the line-
item veto in his State of the Union speech this year. This is nothing 
but a hoax. President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress have 
been partners in creating record deficits since taking control, 
complete control of our government in 2001. Over that time, more than 
1,000 bills have been sent to the President to sign; and he has signed 
all of them, each and every one.
  And now the President wants a line-item veto. If he was really 
concerned about the way the House Republican Congress is spending 
American taxpayer money, one would think that the President would have 
voted some of these bills down which were sent to his desk. But, no. 
The President and the Republican Congress have turned a $5 trillion 
surplus into a $4 trillion deficit. And they have nobody to blame but 
themselves.
  So if the President really wanted to do something about spending, he 
should take some action now and veto some of these bills.

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