Both chambers of Congress are moving forward on measures centered around budget process changes, with a focus on giving the president line-item veto authority. The House passed the Legislative Line Item Veto Act (H.R. 4890) 247-172 on Jun. 22, and the Senate Budget Committee reported out a broader budget reform bill on Jun. 21 that included presidential line-item rescission authority. The Senate bill, called the Stop Over Spending Act (S. 3521), also includes:

• Caps on discretionary spending for three years that would likely force large domestic discretionary spending cuts unless they are ignored (as has been the case in supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan);
• Revival of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings automatic across-the-board spending cuts when the deficit hits a certain percentage of GDP. This provision would once make Social Security “on-budget,” meaning its surplus would be counted when calculating the deficit. Thus, Social Security would once again mask the true size of the deficit and paying for general government operations;
• Establishment of two non-elected commissions to review federal programs, including entitlement programs, that could transform or eliminate virtually any program in government;
• A move towards biennial budgeting; and
• Changes to the budget process that would reduce transparency.

Neither bill includes what many feel are necessary, common-sense budget process reforms (e.g. the restoration of PAYGO rules that would apply equally to spending and taxes). Senate Democrats have suggested additional budget reforms not currently being considered, such as including the cost of war instead of paying for it through supplemental spending bills. Many have supported using the reconciliation process, which is how the Bush administration has successfully enacted most of its big tax cuts, only for deficit reduction. Democrats have also called for keeping Social Security off-budget to protect the trust fund. With so many controversial provisions, the Senate bill's fate is uncertain. If Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) decides to break the bill up, it seems almost certain that the first issue to be debated will be the line-item veto. That debate will undoubtedly be contentious with most Democrats opposed to handing over such authority and increasing the executive branch's "power of the purse."