U.S. Judge Says Line-item Veto Unconstitutional

Justice Department says it will pursue an expedited appeal to Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Feb. 12) -- A federal judge Thursday declared President Bill Clinton's new line-item veto authority unconstitutional because it upends the balance of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. But the issue is headed to the Supreme Court for a final decision.

"The Line-Item Veto Act is unconstitutional because it impermissibly disrupts the balance of powers among the three branches of government," said U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Hogan.

Hogan said the law "impermissibly crosses the line between acceptable delegations of rule-making authority and unauthorized surrender to the president of an inherently legislative function, namely, the authority to permanently shape laws and package legislation."

The Justice Department late Thursday announced it will urgently appeal the decision. Solicitor General Seth Waxman announced he intends to propose an expedited briefing schedule to the Supreme Court.

That means the high court could decide to whether to hear the case as early as April, and if the case is heard, the court could issue its ruling by early July. The case does not have to go through the intermediate step of a hearing at the Circuit Court level.

In a statement, President Clinton said he believed the Supreme Court ultimately would find the line-item veto constitutional.

"Although I am disappointed with today's ruling, it is my belief that ultimately the line-item veto will be ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court," Clinton said in a statement.

Clinton became the first president to use the power when he vetoed a series of relatively small budget items last August.

In his statement, the president said the line-item veto was a valuable tool that has saved the American taxpayers more than $1 billion.

"The line-item veto provides an important tool for the president to strike unnecessary spending and tax items from legislation," Clinton said. "Congress took the correct step in giving the president this authority, and I was pleased to sign the line-item veto into law."

In their arguments at the district court level, Justice Department lawyers tried to minimize the importance of the line-item authority, saying it simply gives the president the option to spend money as designated by Congress or apply it to reducing the federal deficit.

New York City and Idaho agricultural refiners and processors challenged the law in court after Clinton exercised his power to remove spending items from the budget.

New York City was barred from raising taxes on hospitals and transferring the responsibility for the charges to the federal government in the form of higher Medicaid billings.

Administration officials initially voiced uncertainty on whether Hogan's decision automatically restored the budgetary cuts the president has made.

Lawyers who filed the case against the line-item veto say Thursday's decision means the original budget law is now restored and the items which were lined out in the case -- the New York and Idaho provisions -- are reinstated.

The administration, however, could seek a stay of those provisions pending the appeal. The lawyers say the judge's opinion does not automatically extend to other items which have been lined out, but would if those affected filed for reinstatement.

Congress approved the line-item veto, long desired by Republican lawmakers, in 1996. But there was immediate controversy when Clinton began to use it and some lawmakers expressed second thoughts about what they had done. At one point, the administration said it vetoed some military construction projects in error, based on faulty information.

Clinton used the power 82 times in 1997, removing $1.9 billion in anticipated spending over five years.

Sen. Coats calls decision 'a stepping stone' to final ruling

On Capitol Hill, one of the line-item law's sponsors agreed the Supreme Court will have to settle the issue.

Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) said in a written statement that "obviously, the line-item veto issue was always headed to the Supreme Court for a final ruling. The ruling by the district judge is a stepping stone on the way to a final, high court decision.

"Those of us who are strong backers of the line-item veto continue to believe in the constitutionality of the law, and we drafted [it] to withstand constitutional scrutiny," Coats said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), who voted in favor of the bill, said after reviewing the latest court ruling, he realizes he made a mistake. Bennett frankly admitted on the Senate floor he is having to "throw in the towel [and] eat a little crow."

Longtime line-item veto opponents Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Pat Moynihan (D-N.Y.) spoke on the floor to praise the courts' ruling.

CNN's Charles Bierbauer, John King and John Bisney and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Thursday February 12, 1998

• Groups Ask For New Look Into Ron Brown's Death
• Starr's Office Seeks Testimony From Secret Service Agents
• Congress Fails To Reach Consensus On Iraq Before Break
• U.S. Judge Says Line-item Veto Unconstitutional
• Dems Back Clinton Plan To Bolster Social Security With Budget Surplus
• Clinton Promotes $1 Minimum Wage Hike
• White House Scandal At A Glance

Transcript:
• Clinton Talks To Congressional Democrats