[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
[June 24, 2006]
[Pages 1209-1210]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
June 24, 2006

    Good morning. This past week, I traveled to Austria and Hungary, 
where I had productive meetings with our European allies. We discussed 
the challenges and opportunities we share, including the importance of 
spreading prosperity at home and around the world. It's good to be back 
home, and I'm pleased to report that our economy is strong, growing, and 
delivering prosperity to more of our people.
    Let me give you a few facts. In the first quarter of 2006, our 
economy grew at an impressive annual rate of 5.3 percent. Since August 
of 2003, America has created more than 5.3 million new jobs, more than 
all 25 nations of the European Union combined. Productivity is growing, 
and wages are beginning to rise. And because taxes are low, workers are 
keeping more of the money they earn.
    Our economy is heading into the summer on the fast track, and one of 
the best ways to keep our momentum going is to restrain spending in 
Washington, DC. Earlier this month, Congress took an important step by 
passing an emergency spending bill that stayed within the strict 
spending limits I set. The bill included necessary funding for high 
priorities, such as equipping our military and rebuilding the gulf 
coast, and it showed discipline in other areas. Congress deserves credit 
for meeting my spending limits, and I was pleased to sign the emergency 
spending bill into law.
    As Members of Congress show restraint on spending bills, they also 
need to make reforms in the spending process. Under the current system, 
many lawmakers are able to insert funding for pet projects into large 
spending bills. This process is called earmarking, and it often results 
in unnecessary spending. For example, a bill to fund our military can be 
loaded up with unjustified earmarks and other spending that may not add 
to our national security.
    This leaves Members of Congress with two bad options: They can 
either vote against the whole bill, including all the worthwhile 
spending, or they have to accept the whole bill, including the wasteful 
spending. The President is left with the same dilemma: Either he has to 
veto the entire bill or sign the bill and approve the unnecessary 
spending.
    There's a smarter way to handle taxpayer dollars, and it begins with 
granting the President a tool called the line-item veto. A line-item 
veto would allow the President to remove wasteful spending from a bill 
while preserving the rest of the legislation. Forty-three of our 
Nation's 50 Governors have line-item veto authority, and they have used 
that authority to remove needless spending from otherwise good bills.
    Ten years ago, Members of Congress from both parties voted to grant 
President Clinton the line-item veto. 
However, the Supreme Court ruled that version of the line-item veto 
unconstitutional because it

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took too much spending authority away from the Congress. I proposed a 
new version of the line-item veto that fixes the problem and gives the 
President a clear and constitutional way to cut wasteful spending. Under 
my proposal, the President would identify a list of unnecessary items 
that should be removed from a larger spending bill. Congress would then 
be required to hold a prompt up-or-down vote on the list.
    A line-item veto would give the President a way to insist on greater 
discipline in the budget. A line-item veto would reduce the incentive 
for Congress to spend wastefully because when lawmakers know their pet 
projects will be held up to public scrutiny, they will be less likely to 
suggest them in the first place. Most importantly, a line-item veto 
would benefit American taxpayers by ensuring greater respect for their 
hard-earned dollars.
    This past Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill 
granting line-item-veto authority. This was a victory for the taxpayers 
and for spending restraint. I call on the Senate to show a bipartisan 
commitment to fiscal discipline by passing the line-item veto so we can 
work together to cut wasteful spending, reduce the deficit, and save 
money for American taxpayers.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on June 23 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 24. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
June 23 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of 
the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this 
address.