United States Supreme Court
"Give me the line-item veto!" This call echoed throughout the public speeches of President Ronald
Reagan during the 1980s. Republicans, frustrated in their attempts to reign in congressional spending
on programs they disliked, envisioned the line-item veto as the perfect weapon to use against the Democratic
majority. Some conservatives wanted to cut social programs from spending bills and budgets while keeping
military spending for their home districts intact. Other Republicans objected to all forms of pork—spending
added onto balls at the last minute for one s credit back home. However, because the president’s only
authority was to veto entire bills, this meant losing spending Republicans desired or shutting down the
government. At the state level most governors had line-item veto power, allowing them to trim budgets
of "unwise & frivolous" spending without undermining months of work on the budget. Republicans
highlighted their call for the line-item veto by placing it in the Contract With America, and making
its passage a priority. This would be the perfect budget axe for a Republican president to wield against
a Democratic Congress.
But in 1994 the Republican Party won control of the Congress while Democrat William Clinton was still
president. As one of the announced policy goals of the Republican Party, the 104th Congress could not
back away from its support for the line-item veto, but neither did this Congress want President Clinton
vetoing Republican legislation and tax cuts. President Clinton naturally was very interested in acquiring
this power to trim needless items from legislation. After negotiating agreements on what types of spending
and tax measures could be vetoed, the line-item veto became law in 1996. Many Republicans were sure Robert
Dole would win the presidential election in the fall and, thus, believed the veto would be controlled
by a Republican president. After President Clinton’s reelection several Congressmen from both parties
challenged the law’s constitutionality; however, they lost their argument before the Supreme Court in
the case of Byrd. v. Raines because they did not have grounds to sue. President Clinton
first used his new veto power in 1997, prompting another challenge in court.
On what grounds did the Supreme Court accept this case but not the one filed earlier? Why did the Supreme
Court decide that the line-item veto was unconstitutional? Be sure you can identify the government’s argument
they rejected, and why they rejected it. Do you agree with their rationale? |
