The U.S. House has voted to give presidents a form of line-item veto. It’s a tool that would allow a president to cut specific items out of spending bills. Many state governors have such authority, and it long has been sought by presidents who now must sign or veto spending bills in their entirety. This measure stipulates that all savings from eliminated programs would go to deficit reduction. But the bill faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. In urging passage, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said that when the House voted on a catch-all spending bill in December, lawmakers had only 15 hours to review 1,200 pages with more than $1 trillion in spending. If that’s what passes for budget scrutiny, giving a president his own pair of scissors doesn’t seem unreasonable.
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