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Clinton signs historic line-item veto bill

WASHINGTON: President Bill Clinton on Tuesday signed into law a line-item veto bill which gives U.S. chief executives unprecedented new power to shape tax and spending legislation.

Clinton said it would breathe "fresh air of public accountability" into the budget process.

"For years, presidents of both parties have pounded this very desk in frustration at having to sign necessary legislation that contains special-interest boondoggles, tax lopopholes and pure pork. The line-item veto will give us a chance to change that," Clinton said as he signed the bill in an Oval Office ceremony.

Twelve prominent political figures stood behind Clinton, including Sen. Don Nickles, an Oklahoma Republican who was one of the bill's chief sponsors. The White House said Senate Republican leader Bob Dole and House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich were invited but did not attend.

A key element of the "Contract with America" agenda of the Republican-dominated Congress, the bill lets a president block parts of spending bills or to strike down narrowly- argeted tax breaks. At present, the president may veto an entire bill but not its components.

Line-item veto power takes effect on Jan. 1, 1997. Critics have vowed to challenge it as an unconstitutional surrender of Congress's power to control the government's purse.

Clinton, who predicted the new law will be upheld by the courts, said it would give presidents "tools to cut wasteful spending" by forcing Congress to vote openly on measures that would otherwise slip by unnoticed as part of a larger bill.

"A fresh air of public accountability will blow through the federal budget," he said. "For the exercise of this veto, or even the possibility of its exercise, will throw a spotlight of public scrutiny onto the darkest corners of the federal budget."

Forty-three of the 50 state governors have line-item veto power over their state legislatures. U.S. presidents going back to Ulysses Grant in 1876 have sought the same power.

Clinton noted that the bill was approved with bipartisan backing and urged lawmakers to make it a model for action on a plan to balance the budget.

"I am very proud that we have cut the deficit in half since I took office. The line-item veto bill will help the president cut the deficit even further. But we have to pass a seven-year balanced budget," he said. "I hope we can do what we did with the line-item veto -- work together and pass a good balanced budget plan."

Negotiations between Clinton and the Republican majority in Congress on a budget agreement are currently stalled, and many political experts expect litte but partisan manoeuvring on the issue as the presidential election campaign heats up.-Reuter