THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

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For Immediate Release

June 26, 1997

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I am very pleased with today's Supreme Court decision that turned back the challenge to the line-item veto. This decision clears the way for the President to use this valuable tool for eliminating waste in the Federal budget and for enlivening the public debate over how to make the best use of public funds.

The line-item veto enables Presidents to ensure that the Federal Government is spending public resources as wisely as possible. It permits the President to cancel discretionary spending, new entitlement authority, and certain types of tax provisions that benefit special interests at the expense of the public interest.

The line-item veto is also a practical and principled means of serving the constitutional balance of powers. This new authority brings us closer to the Founders' view of an effective executive role in the legislative process. With it, the President will be able to prevent Congress from enacting special interest provisions under the cloak of a 500- or 1,000-page bill. Special interest provisions that do not serve the national interest will no longer escape proper scrutiny.

I was pleased to work with Congress to secure an historic agreement to balance the budget. The line-item veto will help to keep the budget in balance, and provide us with added discipline by ensuring that, as tight budgets increasingly squeeze our resources, we put our public funds to the best possible uses.

I intend to use it whenever appropriate, and I look forward to using it wisely.

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