Thursday, January 18, 2007

S. 1 Hits Snag Over Line-Item Veto

S. 1 (text), the Senate ethics and lobbying bill (now in its second week on the floor), lies in a state of legislative limbo following the failure of a cloture vote, 51-46, late last night. Because S. 1 contains Senate rules changes, a two-thirds vote is required for cloture, rather than the usual 60 votes.

Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), on behalf of 30 co-sponsors, has filed an amendment to S. 1 that would grant limited line-item recission authority to the president. Unlike Congress' last bill giving the president line-item authority -- struck down by the Supreme Court in 1998 as unconstitutional -- the Gregg amendment provides that any rescissions of congressional spending would have to be approved by both houses of Congress.

But Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), a jealous guardian of the prerogatives of the legislative branch, says that he will object to a vote on S. 1 if it includes the Gregg amendment.

Some of the meritorious parts of the baby that would go out with the bath water if S. 1 goes down: here.