On Tue, 7 Feb 1995, Jim Devine wrote: > I can't find the details in the newspaper, but I'm sure someone knows. > I would bet that the "line item veto" bill that just passed the > US House of Reps specifically excludes the use of the veto on > lines in the military budget. I'd bet $100. > > do I lose my money? What difference does it make? The military budget is more sacrosanct than Social Security. No Republican president (these days) would want to veto any item in it and no Democrat would dare, even if he wanted to. Of course once upon a time Republicans, viz. Eisennhower, took an axe to a war-bloated military budget, but as Robert Welch told us, he was a commie anyway. It's an interesting phenomenon from a polisci perspective, the Congressional enthusiasm for the LIV. Normally institutions like Congress fight like hell to keep their prerogatives vis-a-vis the Executive Branch. What's going on here? Is this the triumph of ideology (i.e., slash and burn, cut spending, etc.) over bureaucratic interest? But I hear the Senate will be more reluctant to give up its power to make the President like it or lump it. All hypothesis gladly entertained. --Justin Schwartz
