By Staff
WASHINGTON – In the face of unprecedented spending and debt projections, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, has co-authored the bipartisan Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto Act, H.R. 1294, to provide the President of the United States with the power of the line-item veto.
Under this long-overdue legislation, the President would have the authority to single out individual pork-barrel spending items in legislation that arrives on his desk for signature and send these specific line items back to Congress for a timely up-or-down vote on whether to rescind these spending provisions.
Likewise, the President would be able to request the rescission of narrowly targeted special-interest tax breaks.
"As we are confronted with reckless spending and deficits of epic proportions, we have an urgent need for the line-item veto to rein in wasteful spending," said Upton. "It makes no sense that 43 states provide their governors the power of the line-item veto, including Michigan, to help trim excessive spending, yet we do not provide that power to the President. While the previous line-item legislation was struck down by the Supreme Court, this bill will pass the constitutionality test.
"We are long overdue in restoring this tool to the President to trim wasteful spending."