Ros-Lehtinen Votes To Give President The Line Item Veto Option & Reiterates Her Long Term Support Of This Important Tool To Cut Bloated Federal Budget

Statement

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) voted today for the line item veto to give the president a new tool to control the bloated federal budget. The legislation, "Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011" (H.R. 3521) will assure that the president has the authority to cut all or any dollar amount of funding from a particular program enacted by Congress.

Many state governors have line item veto authority and they use it to cut excess waste from their budgets. This legislation will make sure that the president has the same budget cutting authority as governors. The bill also includes a provision stating that funds saved from line item vetoed projects will go solely to deficit reduction or increase of a surplus. Ros-Lehtinen has long been a supporter of the line item veto, having voted for it when it came before the House in 1996.

Said Ros-Lehtinen, "This Congress has reduced federal spending by $95 billion below 2010 levels, making it the first time in modern history that Congress has cut discretionary spending two years in a row. Even though federal spending has been cut, the line item veto is badly needed so the president can cut wasteful programs even further.

I have long supported giving the Executive Branch this authority and I can't think of a better time than now to pass this important budget cutting tool. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to stop their partisan political games and debate and approve this legislation and send it to the president for his signature.

The American people are demanding reforms in the way we cut federal spending and this is a very good start."

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