Bipartisan “Janesville Line-Item Veto” introduced with
hometown Rep. Paul Ryan
MADISON —Today, Democratic Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel makes his grand entrance into the Republican primary for U.S. Senate with a campaign stop in Janesville. As he speaks to media in Senator Feingold’s hometown, will he go on-record and support bipartisan deficit-reduction legislation introduced by two of Janesville’s sons?
“Will Secretary Leinenkugel spend his time in Janesville today discussing his plans and ideas or will he do what his primary opponents have done to date – offer only slogans and mudslinging, but no solutions?” asked Mike Tate, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Secretary Leinenkugel should take this time to stand in support of the deficit-reduction measures of the senator from Janesville, Russ Feingold.”
Senator Russ Feingold and Congressman Paul Ryan, both originally from Janesville, have teamed up to introduce the “Janesville Line-Item Veto,” that gives any president the authority to strip earmarks and wasteful Washington spending from legislation. And experts agree that a line-item veto will benefit taxpayers.
In addition to the “Janesville Line-Item Veto,” Senator Feingold has introduced several other bills to reduce the deficit. Last week, he successfully pushed through legislation to prevent members of Congress from receiving an automatic pay raise next year – something Feingold has been working to permanently ban for years.
Feingold is also well-respected for keeping his 1992 pledge to never request an earmark and has also led the charge in the Senate to end this abusive practice. The “Janesville Line-Item Veto” would allow the president to pull out unnecessary earmarks without vetoing important bills.
Recently, Russ’s provision to rescind transportation earmarks that are more than 10 years old with 90 percent unspent funds passed through the Senate, as part of his Control Spending Now Act. The provisions in the bill are estimated to save one-half of a trillion dollars.
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