"I had the line-item veto. We ought to have that in Washington. It allows you to pick out the pork and pick out the waste and to zero in on it." – Governor Romney (Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," 4/4/07) Posted on 10/30/2007 7:07:06 AM PDT by Reaganesque
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kevin Madden (857) 288-6390
"I had the line-item veto. We ought to have that in Washington. It allows you to pick out the pork and pick out the waste and to zero in on it." – Governor Romney (Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," 4/4/07)
VETO #1: More Than 800 Budget Line-Items:
For All Four Of The Fiscal-Year Budgets That Crossed His Desk, Governor Romney Used The Line-Item Veto Power More Than 800 Times. Over the course of four budgets, Governor Romney made over 300 line-item reductions, 350 line-item eliminations and struck language 150 times. (Chapter 26 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2003, Governor's Veto Message, 6/30/03; Chapter 149 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2004, Governor's Veto Message, 6/25/04; Chapter 45 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2005, Governor's Veto Message, 6/30/05; Governor Mitt Romney, Memo To The Senate And House Of Representatives Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts; Fiscal Year 2007 General Appropriations Act Veto Items: Line Item Accounts, 7/8/06)
- Beacon Hill Institute Executive Director David Terck: "He Vetoed Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Spending." WALL STREET JOURNAL'S PAUL GIGOT: "Was Governor Romney willing to use his veto pen to do that in Massachusetts?" BEACON HILL INSTITUTE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DAVID TERCK: "He most certainly was. He vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars in spending." (Fox News' "Journal Editorial Report," 3/31/07)
VETO #2: In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants:
In 2004, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed In-State Tuition For Illegal Immigrants. "Romney also vetoed a number of outside sections of the budget, including: ... A plan that would have permitted illegal aliens to pay the same in-state tuition rate at our public colleges and universities as Massachusetts citizens." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs $22.402B Fiscal Year 2005 'No New Tax' Budget," Press Release, 6/25/04)
VETO #3: A Moratorium On Charter Schools:
In 2004, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Moratorium On Opening New Charter Schools. "Romney also vetoed a number of outside sections of the budget, including: ... A moratorium on the opening of five new charter schools in North Adams, Lynn, Salem, Marlborough and Cambridge." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs $22.402B Fiscal Year 2005 'No New Tax' Budget," Press Release, 6/25/04)
VETO #4: A Tax On Prescription Drugs:
In 2003, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Renewed A Prescription Drug Tax. "Specific vetoes include language that would have: ... Renewed the ill-conceived $1.30 pharmacy tax levied on every prescription filled, which has a disproportionate impact on senior citizens and others who live on fixed incomes. This tax was scheduled to be reduced to 65 cents on July 1, 2004, but with Romney's veto will no longer be imposed." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs No New Tax Budget In Time For New Fiscal Year," Press Release, 6/30/03)
VETO #5: A Provision That Would Have Weakened Massachusetts' English Immersion Program:
In 2003, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Created "A Major Loophole" In Massachusetts' English Immersion Law. "Specific vetoes include language that would have: ... Changed the English immersion ballot initiative to permit 'two-way' bilingual programs, creating a major loophole in the new law." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs No New Tax Budget In Time For New Fiscal Year," Press Release, 6/30/03)
VETO #6: $150,000 To Study The Winter Moth:
In 2006, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed $150,000 For The University Of Massachusetts To Study The Winter Moth. (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Vetoes Wasteful Spending, Cites Need To Maintain Fiscal Discipline," Press Release, 6/24/06)
VETO #7: $4 Million To Research The Efficiency Of The Internal Combustion Engine:
In 2006, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed $4 Million To Research The Efficiency Of The Internal Combustion Engine. (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Vetoes Wasteful Spending, Cites Need To Maintain Fiscal Discipline," Press Release, 6/24/06)
VETO #8: $100,000 To Build A Gazebo In Braintree:
In 2006, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed $100,000 For A Gazebo On Sunset Lake In Braintree. (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Vetoes Wasteful Spending, Cites Need To Maintain Fiscal Discipline," Press Release, 6/24/06)
VETO #9: A Provision Watering Down The Welfare Work Requirement:
In 2003, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed A Provision That Would Have Weakened The Work Requirement For Welfare Recipients. "Specific vetoes include language that would have: ... Allowed education and training to substitute for the 20-hour per week work requirement for able-bodied welfare recipients. This veto saves $8 million and preserves the cornerstone of welfare reform, which has been the work requirement. Romney signed into law a provision expanding the work requirement to recipients who have children between the ages of two and five." (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs No New Tax Budget In Time For New Fiscal Year," Press Release, 6/30/03)
VETO #10: Retroactive Pay Increases For State Employees:
In 2004, Governor Romney Line-Item Vetoed Retroactive Pay Increases For State Employees. "The largest veto was $32 million to pay for retroactive pay raises for state employees at public colleges and universities. Romney noted the labor contracts are funded on a going forward basis, but said: 'Taxpayers who are trying to make ends meet, and who have been denied the tax cut they voted for in 2000, should not be asked to pay for retroactive salary increases for state employees.'" (Office Of Governor Mitt Romney, "Romney Signs $439 Million Supplemental Budget Bill," Press Release, 9/17/04)
PING for - A Gazebo in Braintree.
That could be the title of a classic book, couldn’t it? “A Gazebo in Braintree” by Mitt Romney. LOL
Mitt’s naysayers point to comments he made while running for election in the liberal state of Massachusetts, but his record of governing as a fiscal and social conservative is clear.
The only people who are accusing him of flip-flopping are MA liberals who felt that they tricked into voting for him.
It is nice to know that he is fiscally conservative....
I am still keeping my options open. I want to see some more from Romney, hunter and Thompson.
You mean those who know him best? Like the people who kept pointing out Mike Dukakis' "Massachusetts Miracle" was a fraud and that he was a lying failure?
No, there was a MA miracle. Problem is, it wasn’t done by Dukakis, it was a combination of Reagan at the federal level and the DINO (later Republican) Governor Ed King at the state level. Dukakis took credit for King’s success. King was the last great Governor of the state. Precious Willard couldn’t hold his jockeys.
LOL. Yes, somehow “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” popped in my head when I read that.
Nice set of vetoes.
“Not sure but i think the Clinton’s allowed that to go away.”
The courts did. Rootie was actually one of the petitoners because BJC line itemed a 100M or so from a grant to NYC.
Ask Reaganesque how many of his vetoes were sustained. Again, there aren’t enough Republicans in the legislature to sustain a GOP Governor’s veto. If the vetoes WERE sustained, then credit would have to be given to Democrat legislators (we don’t wanna do that, do we ?). The claims of Romney being such a fiscal Conservative are overblown, since after all, both Dukakis and Howard Dean balanced their state budgets. Are we going to give THEM the GOP nomination for President ?
Of course there wasn’t enough Republicans to sustain the veto, this is Massachusetts we’re talking about.
Would you prefer he hadn’t made the vetoes at all? Or would you complain about that, too?
There used to be... until the string of RINO Governors shriveled the party. Or have you folks conveniently forgotten that as recently as 1992, 40% of the Senate of MA was Republican. Now it’s heading down towards 10%. That’s called gross incompetence and deliberate mismanagement. Not even the rodents could do that to us. You think incompetence deserves a promotion ?
I’d wait until he actually provides evidence of an override before agreeing with him.
Just because the legislature’s mostly democrat, doesn’t mean all the democrats were willing to go on record for these individual projects.
The beauty of the line-item veto is that it forces politicians to stand up and be counted. IN fact, most line-item veto bills allow override by simple majority vote.
So it isn’t about requiring a supermajority, just about making a representative vote directly on stupid spending.
You made the claim about the vetoes getting overturned. You should be prepared to back it up. Don't make others do your homework for you.
FYI, it's true that many of his vetoes were overturned, especially toward the end of his term. But, some very important ones stuck, such as his veto of a bill to give in-state tuition to illegals in the UMass system.
In 2003, most of his spending vetoes stuck. This was very important, because tax revenues were down in that year, and there would have been a huge deficit without some spending cuts or tax increases. The Dems wanted to raise tax rates to close the gap, but he held his ground, prevented the tax hike, and insisted on spending cuts. He won. This was a huge victory.
It was harder to sustain his spending vetoes in the last couple years because the state was not in fiscal crisis anymore (largely thanks to him standing his ground in 2003). The economy was expanding faster, which caused an increase in tax revenue without a hike in tax rates. With the state budget flush with cash, it was much harder to stop the Dems from spending it, even though he did everything he could to try to stop it. I don't see why he should be blamed for his veto overrides, though, since he didn't elect the legislature.
If the vetoes WERE sustained, then credit would have to be given to Democrat legislators (we don’t wanna do that, do we ?).
LOL. That's rich. If the veto gets overturned, it's Romney's fault and he deserves all the blame (never mind that he had no control over the composition of the legislature). But if it gets sustained, he gets no credit.
The claims of Romney being such a fiscal Conservative are overblown, since after all, both Dukakis and Howard Dean balanced their state budgets. Are we going to give THEM the GOP nomination for President?
The difference is that Mitt did it without raising tax rates.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
