Barack Obama wants Congress to pass line item veto legislation that would allow him to cut wasteful programs from spending bills without vetoing the entire bill. This way he can pretend to be concerned about his party’s record spending.
Barack Obama and the Pelosi Democrats tripled the national deficit last year by nearly a trillion dollars – something unheard of in our nation’s history.
Democrats are off to another roaring start this year and will come close to last year’s record.
With this move announced today, Barack Obama can claim he is concerned about his record spending and deficits.
MSNBC reported:
President Barack Obama on Monday is sending legislation to Congress that would allow him to force lawmakers to vote on cutting wasteful programs from spending bills.
The legislation would award Obama and his successors the ability to take two months or more to scrutinize spending bills that have already been signed into law for pet projects and other dubious programs. He could then send Congress a package of spending cuts for a mandatory up-or-down vote on whether to accept or reject them.
Senate Democrats killed the idea just three years ago, and so Obama’s move would seem like a long shot. But the plan could pick up traction in the current anti-Washington political environment in which lawmakers are desperate to demonstrate they are tough on spending.
GOP Sen. Judd Gregg tried in 2007 to force a vote on the weaker version, he won only 49 votes, far short of the 60 needed to break delaying tactics led by Democrats such as Robert Byrd. Barack Obama voted against the legislation back in 2007.
What a shock.
