[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 82 (Thursday, June 22, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H4426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LINE ITEM VETO IS A COMMONSENSE SOLUTION

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, today we will be debating the line 
item veto. Now, if you ask my constituents, this is an issue that 
doesn't need much debate. Giving the President the ability to cut 
wasteful spending should go hand in hand with fiscal responsibility.
  Since coming to Congress 1\1/2\ years ago, it has become crystal 
clear to me, as it was to President Reagan, that Washington doesn't 
have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem.
  The line item veto is a commonsense solution. Greater transparency to 
the earmark process and backing it up with a 2-week window for Congress 
to ratify the President's actions will allow us to address unnecessary 
new spending, one of the biggest long-term challenges of the Federal 
budget. Mr. Speaker, when we use tools to cut wasteful spending and 
work toward achieving a balanced budget, the beneficiaries are 
hardworking American taxpayers. If we truly stand for fiscal restraint, 
we must pass the line item veto. I call on all of my colleagues, 
Republicans and Democrats, to support this commonsense, positive move 
to provide greater responsibility to the budget process.

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