U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, has joined a bipartisan group of senators to propose legislation to provide the president with legislative line-item veto authority.

Portman joined Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Thomas Carper, D-Del.; Mark Udall, D-Colo.; Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; Dan Coats, R-Ind.; and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; on Tuesday to introduce the bipartisan Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2011.

The legislation would provide the President with legislative line-item veto authority, which he requested in May of 2010, and would help in curbing wasteful spending and reducing the deficit, Portman said.

“I think we now have the opportunity to do something very simple — which is to use the power of transparency with the legislative line-item veto,” the senator said in a statement. “It is really just about shining a spotlight on specific spending items that don’t make sense, and sunlight, after all, is the best disinfectant.”

Portman says he supported this effort when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also, when Portman served as Budget Director in 2006, he says he advocated for and helped pass similar legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc,; in an effort to curb wasteful spending.

“I wouldn’t be co-sponsoring the Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act if I didn’t believe this would work,” said Portman. “Like the balanced budget requirement, putting in place actual caps on spending and ensuring that we have the discipline in the House and Senate to get our fiscal house back in order so that future generations are not burdened with the excesses of our generation.”

-- John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com