ASHCROFT LAUDS LINE-ITEM VETO

U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft said Thursday the line-item veto under consideration in the Senate "will put a chilling effect" on inserting pork-barrel projects into legislation.

"Under the full scrutiny and light of the American people, the line-item veto could be good therapy for stopping the pork," Ashcroft said. "This is a real start in the right direction.

The bill, still in debate, would allow the president to eliminate specific appropriations from legislation. Then, each rejected measure would return to the committee level as a separate piece of legislation. A two-thirds majority would have to approve the bill for law, Ashcroft said, not a simple majority proposed by the Democrats.

"Next to the balanced-budget amendment, this has the greatest promise for fiscal responsibility," said Ashcroft, a Republican

The line-item veto also could be used to target tax avoidance for special interests, not just appropriated funds.

"As a matter of fact, tax deduction is more sinister," said Ashcroft. "It never has to be put into law year after year."

A sunset provision is in the bill that would require Congress to vote to approve the measure again in 2000.

"That way Congress can evaluate the effectiveness of the measure," Ashcroft said. "Some senators have a substantial fear of having to deal with the potential for major abuse."

Ashcroft said his 20 years in Missouri politics as state auditor, attorney general and governor, has proven the worth of a line-item veto.

"Having worked in the state arena, I saw the line-item veto as a means of achieving fiscal integrity, and I can't think of a single one of the 43 states that have the line-item veto that is trying to eliminate it."