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By BRYAN RILEY
Rappahannock New§ Contributing Writer
As Congress struggles to control federal budget deficits, some politicians are coming hat-in-hand to convince U.S. taxpayers to bail them out.
But before sticking Americans with a tax hike, Congress should reform its budget process. A first step would be to approve a plan by Sens. Dan Coats (R-IN) and John McCain (R-AZ) to give the president a “legislative line-item veto,” providing him with the power that 43 governors and the head of every corporation in America have.
While Sen. John Warner (R-VA) supported this measure last year, Sen. Charles Robb (D-VA) voted against increasing the president’s authority to weed out wasteful projects from spending bills. Sen. Robb’s vote came despite the fact that he enjoyed line-item veto power as governor of Virginia.
In the middle of May, the Senate will probably vote on the issue again, giving him a chance to recon-' sider his position.
In the last ten years, federal spending has exploded by more than $600 billion, a surge that has led to mind-boggling budget deficits. While revenues increased by $473.6 billion in the 1980’s, the government spent that money and more. As a result, the U.S. deficit is estimated to be $138 billion. This estimate would
93.5%