Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Clinton to Sign Line-Item Veto

President Clinton, with the stroke of his pen, today will give the next president--perhaps himself--the authority to cut specific items from spending bills. The line-item veto would go into effect Jan. 1. It fulfills a Republican “contract with America” promise, but Democratic presidents have wanted it as well. It does away with a requirement, in place since the nation’s founding, that a president must approve or reject legislation in its entirety. Opponents characterized it as a dangerous ceding to the executive branch of Congress’ power of the purse.