These threats have given both parties some moments we all prefer to forget. These standoffs have undermined public confidence in government. To ensure that the government does not shut down again, here is what I propose. If an appropriations bill is not signed by October 1 of the new fiscal year, affected programs would continue to be funded at the level of the President's budget or the previous year's level as approved by Congress-whichever is lower. Next, I will address a longstanding source of public irritation and outrage-the wasteful habit of pork barrel spending.
New examples come along every year.
I support the establishment of a bipartisan commission to eliminate pork throughout the federal government. Further, to bring fiscal discipline to the budget, I will ask Congress to pass line-item veto legislation. The Supreme Court has made clear how such legislation can pass constitutional muster. Congress cannot give the President a permanent line-item veto. But it can give the President authority to decline to spend wasteful appropriations.