Line-item veto supporters plan showdown in Senate

Supporters of the legislative line-item veto bill being voted on in the House on Wednesday are planning a showdown with appropriators in the Senate soon on that chamber's version of the bill.

The House measure, sponsored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and ranking member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), enjoys rare bipartisan support from both the White House and House GOP leadership.

The Senate companion bill (S.102), sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.), has 43 co-sponsors from both parties.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has not staked out a position on the bill and no plans for a markup in the Senate Budget panel have been set.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), however, does support the bill, his office said Wednesday.

Aides said Wednesday that sponsors will try to offer the bill as an amendment to must-pass legislation soon.

“You know how hard it is to move anything as a standalone over here,” one aide said.

The bill allows the president, within 45 days of the passage of an appropriations bill, to request that specific funding be canceled. The request would receive an up-or-down vote in Congress.

A true line-item veto was found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1990s.

Opponents of the bill argue that it tips the balance of power too heavily in favor of the White House, weakening Congress.

Appropriators have said that annual negotiations with the White House on spending bills will be altered as members fear that their spending priorities will be retaliated against by the White House after a spending bill becomes law.

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