Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today urged the Senate to pass Sen. Judd Gregg’s (R-N.H.) amendment to The Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 (S. 1).  The amendment, called “A Second Look at Wasteful Spending,” would give the President a modified form of the line-item veto without usurping congressional spending authority. 

“Of all the budget reforms now being debated in Congress, the line-item veto is the only proposal that has the potential to actually reduce the number and cost of earmarks,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “The line-item veto is a proven tool for eliminating waste and saving taxpayer dollars.”

The amendment, expected to be introduced today, would allow the President to propose the elimination of individual expenditures and special tax breaks in legislation without having to veto the entire bill.  For any such rescission package to become law, both chambers of Congress would have to approve it without amendment by majority vote.  Any member of Congress could fast-track consideration of the rescissions for a vote in that chamber within eight days. 

The House approved a line-item veto bill last year.  Sen. Gregg was able to pass a bill similar to his amendment out of the Budget Committee last summer, but it was never brought to the Senate floor for a vote despite the more than 20,000 petitions and 13,000 e-mails from CCAGW members and supporters sent to the Senate in favor of the line-item veto.  Before it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1998, President Clinton was able to use the line-item veto to cut 82 items to save $2 billion over five years.  Sen. Gregg’s version would be constitutional.

The 2006 Congressional Pig Book identified 9,963 pork projects costing a record $29 billion in the fiscal 2006 appropriations bills.  These projects included $1 million for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative and $500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, North Carolina.  Earmarks have also played a central role in a wave of ethics and lobbying scandals on Capitol Hill.

 “The jury is still out on whether Congress will pass genuine reform or window dressing.  The line-item veto would be a significant check against wasteful and egregious pork-barrel spending,” Schatz concluded.

The Guide to Earmark Reform, which compares reform proposals of the House, Senate, and Administration, is available at www.ccagw.org.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.