Supporters of the law argue it's merely a check on wasteful spending. Clinton exercised the veto 82 times last year before a federal judge in Washington ruled the law unconstitutional in February. Once a bill becomes law, the president's sole duty is to carry it out, U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan said. The line-item veto law lets the president sign a bill and within five days go back to reject specific spending items or tax breaks in it. Congress can then reinstate the item by passing a separate bill.
Most governors have similar authority over state spending.
Even the country's first president chafed at the limits placed on him by the writers of the U.S. Constitution. The act simply gives the president a measure of discretion over the expenditure of appropriated funds. New York City sued to restore a provision that would have let the city and New York state raise taxes on hospitals and use the money to attract federal Medicaid payments. The Snake River Potato Growers sued over Clinton's veto of a tax measure that would have allowed agricultural processors to defer capital gains taxes when they sell such facilities to farmers' cooperatives. The case is Clinton vs. City of New York, 97-1374.