WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush called for the passage of a line-item veto, saying it is a needed tool to hold down federal government spending.
Bush, in his radio address Saturday, said the Senate should pass a measure, already approved by the House of Representatives, that would return the line-item veto to the presidency.
Such a power was granted during the Clinton administration but the U.S. Supreme Court said the measure was unconstitutional because it took too much spending authority from Congress. Bush said the House-passed bill passes constitutional muster.
"A line-item veto would give the president a way to insist on greater discipline in the budget," Bush said. "A line-item veto would reduce the incentive for Congress to spend wastefully because when lawmakers know their pet projects will be held up to public scrutiny, they will be less likely to suggest them in the first place."
Bush said "earmarking" forces lawmakers to accept line items they don't like at the expense of not supporting an important bill, but the line-item veto would help solve that problem.
