Obama seeks modified line-item veto

With fear of a Greece-style debt collapse roiling a Congress already balking at new spending, the White House on Monday offered its own solution — a modified line-item veto that would give President Obama another crack at forcing Congress to vote on spending cuts.

But the proposal will have to pass a Congress wary of giving up power over the purse and would require a reversal by many Democrats who voted against a similar proposal from President George W. Bush four years ago.

The White House said times are bad enough that the administration believes Congress is now ready.

“The fiscal context has changed as it became necessary to combat a severe economic downturn and as ongoing deficits have become a growing concern,” Peter R. Orszag, Mr. Obama’s budget director, told reporters. “We are hopeful the Congress will enact this legislation because it will help everyone to reduce unnecessary spending.”

Ever since a 1998 Supreme Court overturned a line-item veto as unconstitutional, presidents have sought to come up with new ways to achieve the same end while not running afoul of the Constitution.

This new proposal, like that submitted by Mr. Bush in 2006, relies on rescission authority: After any bill that spends money, the White House could send Congress a new bill that calls for specific cuts. Congress would have a set time line to act on the bill, and it would have to hold an up-or-down vote, avoiding a potential Senate filibuster.

The number of cuts is likely to be small, compared with the overall budget. A good indicator of the potential scope is the package of cuts the president submits each year with his proposed budget. That package typically runs between $10 billion and $20 billion, or about half of 1 percent of all federal spending.

Mr. Orszag said the administration’s approach answers the constitutional questions and puts pressure on Congress to scrutinize spending ahead of time, knowing that the White House would have a tool to force a debate on specific spending projects.

The 2006 Bush effort passed the House, mainly on the strength of Republican support. It garnered just 35 Democratic votes in favor. It never received a vote in the Senate.

Mr. Orszag, though, said spending has grown so fast and economic conditions have changed so much that the administration feels the time is ripe to try again. He pointed to similar proposals already floating around Capitol Hill as evidence some lawmakers want to try.

Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat and a longtime foe of wasteful spending, is holding a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday to examine his own bipartisan proposal — written with Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, and Rep. Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican — to rescind earmarks.

Republicans said Mr. Obama already could start cutting spending under existing powers.

“Why can’t we start cutting spending right now?” House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, asked. He and Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, have called on the president to send up a package of cuts. They have promised Republican support for those cuts.

Mr. Orszag said the White House is not planning to send up rescissions under existing authority this year. He said the existing authority is so constrained that there’s not much chance for success, and the administration would rather wait to see whether Congress will approve these new tools instead.