US: Republican leaders in Congress have backed a White House proposal to enable President Bush to limit "pork barrel" spending by vetoing individual items in spending bills, writes Denis Staunton in Washington
Presidents since Ulysses S Grant 130 years ago have sought to introduce a "line item" veto on bills from Congress, but the supreme court ruled in 1998 such a measure was unconstitutional.
Under the constitution, the House of Representatives and the Senate must pass a bill and the president must sign it for it to become law. The president cannot amend a bill but must either accept it in full or reject it completely.
Mr Bush's proposal is more modest than that of President Clinton, which the Supreme Court rejected, and President Bush believes it can stand up to constitutional scrutiny.
It would allow the president to sign a spending bill but to defer spending money on items he disputes. Congress would have 10 days to approve a second bill deleting the disputed spending plans, which it could not amend or delay by filibuster. If Congress did not support the president's changes, the original spending measures would proceed.
Forty-three of America's 50 state governors can use a line item veto and Mr Bush said in a message to Congress that he needed a similar instrument to rein in federal spending.
"Although the Congress achieved significant spending restraint this past year, appropriations and other bills that are sent to my desk still contain spending that is not fully justified, is a low priority, or is earmarked to avoid the discipline of competitive or merit-based reviews. When this legislation is presented to me, I now have no ability to line out unnecessary spending," he said.
Scandals surrounding Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and disgraced congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham have put Congress under pressure to reform the system of "earmarks" in spending bills. At present, congressmen can insert spending commitments earmarked for their constituencies into major bills.
Because the president must sign the bill or reject it completely, such earmarks are usually approved. Since he took office five years ago, Mr Bush has not vetoed a single piece of legislation.
The president received unexpected support from his Democratic challenger in 2004, Massachusetts senator John Kerry.
"It's no secret that President Bush and I don't agree on much, but I fully support giving him the line-item veto," Mr Kerry said.
The Democratic leadership in Congress was more critical and and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said the measure would do little to improve Mr Bush's fiscal record.
"President Bush has presided over the largest fiscal turnaround in our nation's history, turning a projected $5.6 trillion surplus to a deficit of $3.3 trillion," she said.
Republican senator Jim DeMint said he supported the line-item veto but pointed out that if the president really wanted to limit earmarks, he could simply refuse to fund many of them.
White House spokesman Scott McLennan expressed confidence that a majority in congress would back the president's proposal.