    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [March 6, 2006]
    [Pages 412-413]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting a Legislative Proposal To Give the
    President a Line-Item Veto
    March 6, 2006

    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.

    [[Page 413]]

        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.