Seldon11988
Administrator
(2/7/03 12:37 am)
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Line Item Veto, Balanced Budget Amendment, etc
I am curious if anyone has any views on amending the U.S. constitution to help keep government spending under control and reduce deficit spending. There are several viable ideas circulating about this.
The first would be to give the president a line item veto. A line item veto (which many state governors, including mine in Maryland, have) is the ability for the executive to veto a portion of a spending bill without vetoing the entire thing. This is designed to allow the executive to sign into law needful spending without accepting needless pork spending.
A second idea suggested to keep the Federal budget in balance is another one that many states also have, balanced budget requirements. Some suggestions would be iron-clad (except in wartime) while others would allow deficit spending if supported by 2/3 majority in both houses.
A third idea would only allow a tax increase (and thus, ultimately, a spending increase) if approved by 2/3 majorities in both houses. With this requirement, none of the large tax increases of the past several decades would have passed (Clinton's '93 tax hike passed the Senate 51-50 on Al Gore's tie breaking vote and by 1 single vote in the House).
Does anyone think that such change would be desirable? Is it needed? What about the specific proposals?
VAdm Robert Seldon, (Jacob)
Chief of Fleet Development
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