Return to Article: Line-item veto might hitch ride on lobbying overhaul bill

By Peter Cohn CongressDaily March 10, 2006
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    Interesting thought, rds. With the wonderful new line item veto, Congress can blame the president when it overspends, and the president can blame Congress. Nobody ever has to take responsibility for their own actions again!

    Everybody wins, except the American people! But who cares about them?

    Oh, but this administration doesn't play the blame game, unless, of course, it gets the chance to cheat.

    GovExec.com reader Posted March 28, 2006 2:42 PM
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    By allowing the president to use the "line item veto" the Congress is free to put all the junk in they want. They can do it at any time and then turn on the president for not finding it and eliminating it. The Congress is put in a situation where they can tell the folks back home how they brought in the pork and if it doesn't make it through, they simply say it was deleted and not authorized by the Congress. What a way to get reelected, blame someone else when it doesn't work and take credit for it when it does. How can they lose, after all the president is only around for a maximum of eight years. Lawmakers can stay for ever.

    rds Posted March 13, 2006 10:48 AM
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    By the time the lobby overhaul bill leaves Congress, it will most likely be unenforceable. The Congress isn't very well policed as it is. So how will stricter lobbying laws be enforced? These are lawyers writing the bill that restricts them. They will water it down.

    As far as the line item veto is concerned, I think it will make the President responsible for every piece of legislation he signs off on. The public will know where the buck stops. Congressional representatives who object to it most likely have something to hide. We've had enough hidden agendas from Congress. The amount of pork they tack onto good bills is ridiculous.

    Unfortunately, with our leaders in the government, nothing is ever what it appears to be.

    Robert M. Posted March 12, 2006 6:21 PM
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    I hope the "Republican leaders" aren't attaching that line item veto amendment to the House version of S. 2128. The reason why is that the Senate bill contains language related to "grass-roots lobbying" that is so broad that it could even affect GovExec's editorial practices and its advertisers. This is one of those rare cases in which opposition comes from both sides of the political spectrum.

    Jerome C. Borden Posted March 12, 2006 3:23 PM

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Line-item veto might hitch ride on lobbying overhaul bill
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