But the fine print of the bill now moving through the House reveals that though the Republicans are tough on spending, they are lax on special-interest tax giveaways. The bill allows the president to veto “targeted tax benefits” – but then defines that phrase to include only a tiny number of small loopholes. The vast majority of tax breaks – worth hundreds of billions of dollars – would remain immune from the president’s veto. Any lobbyist looking for goodies from the federal government could work through the tax code instead of spending bills. Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey warns that this flaw in the legislation has turned the line-item veto from a real deficit-reduction tool into a “gimmick.”
