most governors have this, correct? Why doesn't the president? I know that congress likes being able to get their pork in a bill, but other than that, is there a problem with the line item veto that I'm not getting? What would it take to get congress to give the PotUS that power?
line item veto
- Thread starter LordOpie
- Start date
Line item veto is unconstitutional.
"Bill Clinton was the first president to act under this new authority when, in 1997, he canceled 78 line items. Two of these cancellations directly affected the city of New York and the Snake River Potato Growers, a group of about 30 potato growers in Idaho. In section 4722(c) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress eliminated New York City's liability to return $955 million in Medicaid payments. President Clinton "canceled" section 4722(c), thus reinstating New York City's liability to repay this huge sum of money. In section 968 of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Congress allowed certain food refiners and processors to defer paying capital gains tax upon the sale of its stock. The Snake River Potato Growers qualified under this section for this tax break, but President Clinton "canceled" section 968. Both the city of New York and the Snake River Potato Growers sued in federal court, arguing that the Line Item Veto Act was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court agreed.
The Court looked closely at the "Presentment Clause" found in Article I, *7, of the U.S. Constitution. This clause provides that "[e]very Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it." The president's "return" of a bill, now commonly known as a veto, is subject to being overridden by a two-thirds vote in each House.
The Court held that "[t]here are important differences between the President's 'return' of a bill pursuant to Article I, *7 and the exercise of the President's cancellation authority pursuant to the Line Item Veto Act. The constitutional return takes place before the bill becomes law; the statutory cancellation occurs after the bill becomes law. The constitutional return is of the entire bill; the statutory cancellation is of only a part." Thus, the Court ruled, the Line Item Veto Act "gives the President the unilateral power to change the text of duly enacted statutes" in conflict ..."
"Bill Clinton was the first president to act under this new authority when, in 1997, he canceled 78 line items. Two of these cancellations directly affected the city of New York and the Snake River Potato Growers, a group of about 30 potato growers in Idaho. In section 4722(c) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress eliminated New York City's liability to return $955 million in Medicaid payments. President Clinton "canceled" section 4722(c), thus reinstating New York City's liability to repay this huge sum of money. In section 968 of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Congress allowed certain food refiners and processors to defer paying capital gains tax upon the sale of its stock. The Snake River Potato Growers qualified under this section for this tax break, but President Clinton "canceled" section 968. Both the city of New York and the Snake River Potato Growers sued in federal court, arguing that the Line Item Veto Act was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court agreed.
The Court looked closely at the "Presentment Clause" found in Article I, *7, of the U.S. Constitution. This clause provides that "[e]very Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it." The president's "return" of a bill, now commonly known as a veto, is subject to being overridden by a two-thirds vote in each House.
The Court held that "[t]here are important differences between the President's 'return' of a bill pursuant to Article I, *7 and the exercise of the President's cancellation authority pursuant to the Line Item Veto Act. The constitutional return takes place before the bill becomes law; the statutory cancellation occurs after the bill becomes law. The constitutional return is of the entire bill; the statutory cancellation is of only a part." Thus, the Court ruled, the Line Item Veto Act "gives the President the unilateral power to change the text of duly enacted statutes" in conflict ..."
LordOpie said:
HAHAHA
nothing would ever get done.
Giving the pres line item would totally screw up the balance of powers. But most bills are huge conglomerations of crap that come out of commitees. Congress should be able to vote on individual laws within a bill or commitees should be required to package bills that contain laws that have a direct and required relation to each other.
the bills that get passed have thousands of little riders tacked onto them, pork projects here and there, unrelated items and resolutions thrown in for fun, etc. separating them would increase the amount of paperwork and debate by quite a few orders of magnitude, i'm guessing.LordOpie said: