Washington – Gov. Bill Owens met with President Bush and other governors at the White House today as part of the administration’s effort to win congressional passage of a line-item veto.
Owens joined Republican Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and several other state executives at the hour-long mid-morning meeting with Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential aides Josh Bolten and Karl Rove. CQ
The group had a far-ranging conversation about government spending and foreign affairs. Bush briefed the governors on the morning’s top news – the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – and discussed U.S. relations with Iraq and Iran.
“We also talked about fiscal discipline,” Bush told reporters after the meeting. “Every one of these governors have got a line-item veto, and they’ve used it wisely, and they shared their experiences with me.”
Bush has the power to veto spending bills, but has not chosen to use it in his five years in office. A line-item veto would give a president freedom, Owens said, to strike objectionable appropriations without killing necessary legislation.
“Why does he want a line-item when he gets a veto? It’s really hard to veto the total bill, but it’s easy to veto parts of it,” said Owens.
Congress “will package … crap” in needed defense legislation and other important bills, said Owens. “He would like to be able to veto (the) crap.”
The Supreme Court declared a previous version of the line-item veto unconstitutional, but the administration has presented a recalibrated bill to congressional leaders, and is trying to generate support for passage.
