american government definition of line-item veto
A veto can be absolute, as for instance in the United Nations Security Council, whose permanent members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States of America) can block any resolution. Because the legislation that is the subject of the President's request (or Special Message, in the language of the bill) was already enacted and signed into law, the vote by the Congress would be ordinary legislative action, not any kind of veto—whether line-item, legislative or any other sort. The following lesson will discuss a short-lived presidential veto power called the line-item veto. Learn about the definition of line-item vetoes as well as pros and cons. A short quiz will follow the lesson to check your understanding. subsidy-An economic benefit given by the government to an individual, business or group that engages in behavior deemed beneficial by policy makers. Subsidy payments can take the form of direct cash payments, tax credits or tax deductions. Or it can be limited, as in the legislative process of the United States, where a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate may override a Presidential veto of legislation. A veto gives power only to stop changes, not to adopt them (except for the rare amendatory veto). According to the the Line Item Veto Act of 1996, the Act worked as follows: 1  Congress must first pass a bill that contains taxes or spending appropriations. 2  The president can then take the bill and point out which specific items he (or she) opposes and then sign and send the modified bill to Congress. A veto – Latin for I forbid – is the power (used by an officer of the state, for example) to unilaterally stop an official action, especially the enactment of legislation. Though no longer available at the presidential level, a line-item veto is a power that allowed a president to deny or reject specific provisions of spending legislation passed by Congress. The line-item veto gave the president the power to veto specific parts of an appropriations bill. This power, however, was short lived and only lasted from 1996 until 1998 after it was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1996, Congress passed the Line-Item Veto Act. This act was signed by former President Bill Clinton, and it gave the president the power to rescind (take away) any item in an appropriations bill (a bill that asks for money) unless Congress passed a resolution of disapproval.
The line-item veto gave the president the power to veto specific parts of an appropriations bill.