Florida state senators are advocating for a constitutional convention to try to control the uncontrollable: federal spending.
Noting a national debt that recently surpassed $34 trillion and continues to escalate, the senators’ goal is to give the president line-item veto power over the federal budget.
That’s according to a Senate bill known as SCR 7064, which is now moving through committees.
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A Senate staff analysis of the bill notes that Congress gave then-President Bill Clinton line-item veto authority in 1996.
Clinton actually utilized the power 82 times.
Yet the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down two years later.
The high court determined that such authority could only be granted via a constitutional amendment. That’s because the Constitution says the president must sign or reject bills in whole. The justices also noted that allowing such power would wrongfully permit the president to change the language of bills already adopted by Congress.
The Florida Senate notes that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and 43 other states already have such authority over their respective budgets.
The state faces an uphill challenge.
The staff report notes that all 27 current amendments to the Constitution originated with Congress. The Constitution requires that two-thirds of states must agree on a reason for a convention before Congress is forced to call one.
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The Senate bill says debating the line-item veto would be the “sole purpose” of such a convention if Congress is forced to convene one.
The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee passed SCR 7064 by a 12-4 vote on Thursday. All four dissenting votes were cast by Democrats.
An identical bill was filed in the Florida House on Feb. 7. It has yet to come up for a vote.
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