While the last chapter is yet to be written, the story of the line-item veto has become more suspenseful. A number of present and former members of Congress sued to have the line-item veto declared unconstitutional.

On April 10, 1997, Judge Jackson of the District Court for the District of Columbia obliged the plaintiffs and declared the line-item veto unconstitutional. As finally enacted, the Line Item Veto Act operated as follows. After the President signed an appropriations or tax bill, he could "cancel in whole" any (1) dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, (2) item of new direct spending, or (3) limited tax benefit.

The court emphasized that the President's action under the law occurs after he had signed it into law. The President's action then amounted to a repeal of an existing law. This was clearly the exercise of legislative authority by the President, something clearly beyond his constitutional authority. The court noted that other approaches to the line-item veto were still available including the "expedited recession" model favored by several Members of Congress and the passing of a constitutional amendment. *

Source: Byrd v. Raines, Case No. 97-0001, (D.C. DC April 10, 1997)