Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide certain line item veto authority to the President.
H.J. Res. 8 is a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to grant the President limited line-item veto authority over spending in bills or joint resolutions presented for signature. If adopted, the President could reduce specific appropriations within such a bill, and the bill would become law with those reductions included. After making a reduction, the President must notify Congress within 10 days, and Congress may vote to disapprove the reduction. If both the House and the Senate pass disapproval by a two-thirds majority in each chamber, the reduction is undone and the original (unreduced) appropriation amount would apply. The proposed amendment requires ratification by three-fourths of the states within seven years to take effect. The measure is introduced as a constitutional amendment, meaning it would replace the current veto framework with a formal line-item veto power if it is ratified. Sponsors, status, and procedural notes: Introduced January 3, 2025 by Rep. Tom McClintock, with Rep. Randy Weber of Texas as a co-sponsor, and referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Key Points
- 1Section 1 authorizes the President to reduce an appropriation within a bill or joint resolution presented under Article I, Section 7, and the bill would become law with that reduced appropriation.
- 2Section 2 establishes procedures after a reduction: the President must notify Congress within 10 days; Congress may consider disapproval; if both the House and Senate approve disapproval by a two-thirds vote, the reduction is reversed and the original amount is restored.
- 3The mechanism applies only to appropriations within the bill or joint resolution; it does not grant authority to veto non-budget provisions.
- 4The proposed amendment would be part of the Constitution only if ratified by three-fourths of the states within seven years of submission.
- 5The proposal would create a formalized line-item veto by constitutional amendment, rather than a statutory program or executive order.