In his State of the Union address, President Bush once again proposed the line-item veto to Congress as a way to reduce deficit spending. While Bush is touting this "tool of fiscal discipline," in reality unchecked use of the line-item veto by the president would transfer significant power and control from the legislative to the executive branch and effectively allow the president to substitute his spending priorities directly for that of Congress.

In a Feb. 10 speech, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) told a national gathering of conservatives in Washington, D.C. he would "do everything in [his] power to bury the death tax once and for all," and said he plans to bring estate tax repeal legislation to the floor in May. These remarks, which were delivered at a three-day Conservative Political Action Conference, highlight Frist's desire to gain favor with his base by pushing for estate tax repeal. While full repeal is favored by a number of conservative groups, Frist lacks the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass such a measure.