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Washington Digest: House backs 'line item veto' for president
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STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON -- The House voted last week to grant the president the authority to "line item veto" items in spending bills, a power sought by presidents but one that divides lawmakers.
The bill was passed 254-173. It was one of 10 budget reform bills Republicans have proposed but the first to draw bipartisan support.
The legislation would allow a president to propose deleting individual provisions in appropriations bills, setting up a separate vote on their fate. Under current law, a president must sign or veto bills in their entirety.
Congress gave President Bill Clinton a "line item veto" in 1996, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional two years later. Sponsors said the current legislation was framed in harmony with the Constitution by requiring lawmakers to vote on the vetoed items rather than giving the president the final word.
Still the line item veto has divided Congress, and it was considered unlikely that the bill passed last week would clear the Senate.
Sponsors said the possibility of targeted vetoes would cause lawmakers to grant more scrutiny to spending bills, adding the money saved from vetoed projects would go into deficit reduction.
Opponents said the veto still gives too much power to the president while weakening the authority of Congress.
The bill drew support from 197 Republicans and 57 Democrats. Forty-one Republicans opposed it, joined by 132 Democrats.
Reps. Joe Heck and Mark Amodei, both R-Nev., voted for the line item veto. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., voted against it.
BILL ALLOWS PROPERTY SALES
The House voted 259-164 to create a commission to sell off excess federal property, modeled after the process that consolidated or closed hundreds of defense bases.
The bill would "shrink the federal real property footprint and save billions of taxpayer dollars by selling what we don't need and better utilizing what we keep," said Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif.
It would create a nine-member commission to recommend property sales, consolidation and redevelopment. The White House would have 30 days to reject the package or send it to Congress for an up or down vote.
Sponsors said the process was modeled after the Base Closure and Realignment Commission that carried out five rounds of military base consolidations in the 1990s and in 2005. Military bases, national parks and recreation areas would be exempted.
One opponent, Eleanor Holmes Norton, the congressional delegate representing Washington, D.C., said the bill does not require environmental impact studies to ensure against harm before decisions are made to sell or transfer property.
Berkley, Heck and Amodei voted for the bill.
HOUSE PASSES ETHICS BILL
The House voted for a bill that would make it easier for prosecutors to build cases against lawmakers accused of buying or selling stock based on confidential information they gain as members of Congress.
The 417-2 vote was for a version of the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act slightly different from one that passed the Senate earlier this month. A final version may emerge from negotiations.
One key difference: The House deleted a provision that imposes new requirements on "political intelligence consultants" who collect information about bills and sell it to investors. Republican leaders called for more study.
Both House and Senate bills seek to clarify that prohibitions against insider trading extend to members of Congress, their staffs and executive branch employees.
The House bill would require lawmakers, top staff members, high-ranking federal employees and political appointees to report financial transactions with 45 days.
Berkley, Heck and Amodei voted for the bill.
AVIATION BILL CLEARED
The Senate gave final approval to a four-year $64 billion renewal of federal aviation programs.
It was the first multiyear reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration since 2003.
The 75-20 vote sent the legislation to President Barack Obama's desk for enactment. The bill's centerpiece would authorize the modernization of the nation's air traffic control system.
Some who voted against the final bill were unhappy with a compromise that could make it more difficult to unionize airline workers. Nearly 20 labor unions came out against the deal.
Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted for the bill.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.
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