President Clinton today exercised his line item veto power for the first time on an appropriations bill, axing 38 projects costing a total of $287 million from the fiscal 1998 Military Construction appropriations bill.
According to White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry, Clinton delineated these three criteria for deciding which projects to veto: None of the projects, in the view of the White House, would make a substantial contribution to the well being of armed forces personnel; none were included in the administration's budget request; and no design work could have begun on any of the projects, meaning no construction spending would have occurred during FY98.
McCurry called some of the provisions "worthy," but said they nevertheless failed to meet the president's criteria. McCurry said White House officials began notifying members of Congress whose districts were affected by the cuts over the weekend.
One of the affected members is Senate Minority Leader Daschle, who confirmed to reporters today that Clinton will veto a "bona fide" National Guard project in South Dakota. Daschle said the project is on the Pentagon's long term planning list, but that because its plans are not yet 100 percent complete, it did not meet the criteria set out by the administration.
"The criteria are reasonable and legitimate," Daschle said. "Because of that, I have to accept the consequences like everybody else."
But Daschle said the plans for the project will be finalized soon, and he will fight to get it in next year's bill. Mississippi was spared, but Clinton vetoed a $6.8 million training facility at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.
Senate Commerce Chairman McCain, one of the main sponsors of the line item veto, had sent Clinton a letter urging him to line item veto $941 million in projects in the Military Construction funding bill. At the time, McCain said the conference agreement contained earmarks for 129 projects which were not included in the administration's budget request.
Members of Congress were cautious in reacting to today's news until they see the full list of projects. However, an aide to House Appropriations Chairman Livingston questioned one of the standards Clinton used in evaluating projects, saying a project may be worthwhile even if it was not included in the administration's budget request.
"The Congress does not exist to rubber stamp requests from the president," the aide said.
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