Congressman John Campbell

House Approves Line Item Veto

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. House approved H.R. 4890, the Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006. This legislation would bring needed sunlight to the congressional earmark process by giving the president the power to single out questionable spending projects and request an up or down vote to re...

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. House approved H.R. 4890, the Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006. This legislation would bring needed sunlight to the congressional earmark process by giving the president the power to single out questionable spending projects and request an up or down vote to remove them from bills passed by Congress.

U.S. Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) a cosponsor of the bill said, “The legislative line item veto will make the federal budget process more transplant and will add needed accountability to the federal earmark process. This new procedure will be a valuable tool for congress and the president to block wasteful pork-barrel spending.”

The Legislative Line Item Veto Act would give the president the authority to propose the elimination of specific provisions of a spending bills passed by Congress. These proposed eliminations would then be introduced in Congress and be put on a congressional “fast track” for consideration to receive an up or down vote within 10 days of introduction. If the individual recession is approved by both chambers it will be eliminated from the previous bill. Each of the rescissions would be considered individually by Congress, and the president would not be able to propose new spending with this procedure. In addition to spending provisions, this procedure could also be used to eliminate special interest tax breaks that apply to less the one hundred individuals.

The Legislative Line Item Veto Act is similar to a proposal passed in 1998 which was ruled unconstitutional by U.S. Supreme Court. However, the constitutional concerns were addressed in the new proposal by including a legislative procedure to preserve congressional authority and involvement in the process.

H.R. 4890 was introduced by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and has 110 cosponsors. The bill passed by a vote of 247-172. The proposal is among several budget process reforms Campbell and other fiscal conservatives have endorsed as ways to reduce spending and bring transparency to the earmark process.