Would Bush's Line-Item Plan Work?
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Put aside for the moment the question of whether President Bush's proposed "line-item (not quite a) veto" is constitutional. I still insist it is not.
If it were held constitutional, would it work?
We report, you decide:
But the procedural framework is the same: The President asks Congress to vote, or "re-vote," on particular spending items (dare we call them "line-items"?) and Congress of course votes not to cut them. Same old same old.
Because, again, it's not the process, it's the people.
If it were held constitutional, would it work?
We report, you decide:
With many Republicans nervous about cutting popular programs in an election year, a key Senate panel is prepared to drop President Bush's proposals for politically painful cuts to Medicare, farm subsidies and food stamps.Granted, the line-item (not quite a) veto is meant to correct the bloat of pork-barrel spending and so-called "earmarks," not entitlements such as Medicare.
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Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said Tuesday that after shepherding through a five-year, $39 billion benefit-cut bill last year, he didn't have the votes for a second round of cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare.
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For his part, Gregg has opted for what he calls a "vanilla exercise" that drops most but not all of Bush's controversial proposals as nonstarters in a difficult election-year environment.
But the procedural framework is the same: The President asks Congress to vote, or "re-vote," on particular spending items (dare we call them "line-items"?) and Congress of course votes not to cut them. Same old same old.
Because, again, it's not the process, it's the people.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Would Bush's Line-Item Plan Work?
- Bad People or Bad Process?
- Bush's Line-Item (Not Quite a) Veto
- What Part of "Unconstitutional" is Unclear?
Posted by Kip on
8 March 2006
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