Kerry Applauds White House Line-Item Veto Proposal

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Kerry Applauds White House Line-Item Veto Proposal

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), a longtime champion of a constitutional line-item veto, today applauded President Barack Obama's proposal to reduce unnecessary spending by asking Congress to enact a modified line-item veto which will pass constitutional muster.

"No one pretends the line-item veto is a panacea, but it's a valuable tool we need to rein in wasteful spending and hold Congress accountable for how the taxpayers' money is spent. It puts lawmakers on notice that the budget will be scrubbed line by line for waste and abuse," Senator Kerry said. "I introduced a very similar proposal in 2006 because I have seen the difference it makes on the state level, and I believe that any president, Democrat or Republican, should have this weapon in their holster. We know that a properly constructed line item veto can pass constitutional muster. I look forward to working with President Obama to make this proposal a reality so that he can use this new veto pen to get tough on unnecessary spending."

In 2006, Senator Kerry proposed a constitutional line-item veto that would have allowed the President to reduce pork barrel spending and saved taxpayers billions of dollars. Under Kerry's plan the President would have been given the power to identify wasteful items in spending and tax legislation and submit changes to Congress to act on in an up-or-down vote.

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