Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide certain line item veto authority to the President.

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Proposing a Line Item Veto for the President

This bill proposes an amendment to the Constitution that would allow the President to reduce specific parts of spending bills and require Congress to vote to undo these reductions.

What This Bill Does

• Allows the President to reduce certain amounts of money in a spending bill before signing it into law.
• Requires the President to notify Congress within 10 days after using this authority to reduce an appropriation.
• Gives Congress the chance to vote against the President's reduction if two-thirds of both the House and Senate agree.

Who It Names or Affects

• The President
• Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)
• Federal agencies that receive funding

Terms To Know

Line item veto

A power given to the President to reduce or cancel specific parts of a spending bill before signing it.

Appropriation

Money set aside by Congress for a particular purpose, such as funding government programs and agencies.

Limits and Unknowns

• The amendment needs approval from three-fourths of the states to become part of the Constitution.
• It is unclear how this change would affect existing laws or practices in Congress.

Official Summary Text

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that authorizes the President to use a line item veto to reduce an appropriation in a bill or joint resolution.

Under the amendment, the President must notify Congress within 10 days of using this authority to reduce an appropriation. The House and Senate may then consider disapproval of the reduction.

If at least two-thirds of each chamber of Congress votes to disapprove the reduction, the amount of the appropriation that is subject to the reduction must be returned to the amount that was originally presented to the President.

Current Bill Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 8 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. J. RES. 8

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to
provide certain line item veto authority to the President.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 3, 2025

Mr. McClintock (for himself and Mr. Weber of Texas) submitted the
following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to
provide certain line item veto authority to the President.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House
concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States
within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

``Article--

``Section 1. In approving and signing a bill or joint resolution
that is presented under section 7 of article I, the President may
reduce an appropriation in such bill or joint resolution, and such bill
or joint resolution shall become law with such reduction incorporated.
``Section 2. If the President reduces an appropriation under
section 1 of this article--
``(1) not later than 10 days after the date of such
reduction, the President shall notify the House of
Representatives and the Senate of such reduction;
``(2) the House of Representatives and the Senate may
consider disapproval of such reduction; and
``(3) if two-thirds of each House votes to disapprove of
such reduction, the amount of the appropriation in law subject
to such reduction shall be treated as returned to the amount
originally presented to the President under section 1.''.
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