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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Caitlin Huey-Burns
Wisconsin senator said he'd push the Senate to pass the legislation
President Obama asked
The proposal mirrors the line-item veto power struck down by the
The Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010 gives the president 45 congressional working days to weed through a newly enacted spending bill, pick out excessive projects and choose to rescind or reduce their funding.
The president already has the authority to recommend legislation or recisions and
The proposal comes during a mid-term election season where an anti-establishment, anti-government spending mood is at the forefront of political dialogue. Feingold has been a strong advocate of the administration's proposal to curb excessive spending and, along with Republicans Senator John McCain and Rep. Paul Ryan , introduced a bipartisan bill back in March to reinstate the president's power to a line-item veto.
"We know it will be an uphill struggle," said Feingold at a Senate Judiciary hearing to discuss the legality of the proposed executive power. And in the meantime, Feingold requested that "the administration not wait until it has a line-item veto to aggressively challenge wasteful spending and unjustified earmarks."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats "look forward to reviewing the president's proposal and working together to do what's right for our nation's fiscal health and security, now and in the future."
But Obama's proposal met opposition from both parties. "The elected representatives of the people know a lot better than any bureaucrat in Washington as to what are our spending priorities should be," said Senator Robert Byrd in a statement.
House Minority Leader John Boehner
pointed to the president's existing authority to recommend legislative recisions and asked that Obama force
Still, the administration says there needs to be clearer and faster procedure to cut unnecessary spending not only to ensure Congressional action but also to serve as a preemptive measure. Jeffrey Liebman, acting deputy director of the
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Russ Feingold Pushes Line Item Veto for Obama | Politics
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