The House this week also considered H.R. 3521, which would grant the President line item veto power. The legislation gives the President the authority to veto specific aspects of spending bills. The President would have 10 days to notify Congress when exercising the line item veto and Congress would have to vote again on the item. I didn’t support H.R. 3521 because it invests too much power in the Presidency when it comes to discretionary spending decisions — power that constitutionally belongs to Congress. Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that the line item veto is unconstitutional. I voted NO. H.R. 3521 passed and the entire vote is recorded below:
| YEA | NAY | PRESENT | NOT VOTING | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REPUBLICAN | 197 |
41 |
0 |
3 |
| DEMOCRAT | 57 |
132 |
0 |
3 |
| TOTAL | 254 |
173 |
0 |
6 |
| MASSACHUSETTS DELEGATION |
1 |
9 |
0 |
0 |