An Historic Signing. Today, President Clinton will sign into law the "Line-Item Veto Act", historic legislation that significantly enhances the President's authority to eliminate wasteful spending.

"The line-item veto authority will help us cut unnecessary spending and reduce the budget deficit. It is a powerful tool for fighting special interests, who too often are able to win approval of wasteful projects through manipulation of the congressional process, and bury them in massive bills where they are protected from Presidential vetoes. It will increase the accountability of government. I want a strong version of the line-item veto, one that enables the President to take direct steps to curb wasteful spending."

A Consistent Record of Support

Answering the President's State of the Union challenge. The President has consistently called on Congress to pass the line-item veto so that he could begin cutting wasteful spending. The President has repeated his call in his State of the Union addresses, in speeches, in letters to the leadership of Congress, and in his radio addresses.

• Fulfilling A Commitment. In Putting People First, the President promised to ask Congress to give him the line-item veto in order to "eliminate pork-barrel projects and cut government waste."
  
• Line-Item Veto Is Not A Partisan Issue. Presidents Reagan and Bush asked Congress for the line-item veto time and again. It was part of the "Republican Contract with America" and President Clinton's Putting People First. It has strong support from Members of Congress in both parties and both houses. No matter what party the President belongs to or what party has a majority in Congress, the line-item veto will be good for America.
  

We Need the Line-Item Veto to Force Budget Discipline

• Making Cuts Stick. With the line-item veto, President Clinton can make his proposed cuts stick. The veto allows the President to bring discipline to the budget process.
  
• Ending Business As Usual. The line-item veto can help Congress and the President close the door on business as usual in Washington. With the veto, the President can change the way Washington works, ending breaks for special interests and cutting pet spending projects that sneak into the budget year after year.
  
• Protecting Public Resources. With this line-item veto, the President will have a valuable new tool to ensure that our public resources are being put to the best possible uses.

Historical Background

• Since the Civil War, at least ten Presidents have supported granting the Chief Executive the line- item veto. These include Presidents Grant, Hayes, Arthur, Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush. On several occasions throughout the 1980s, supporters tried to pass line-item veto legislation, only to fall short of the votes required for passage.
  
• Forty-three of the country's fifty Governors have some form of line-item veto authority.