By: Eckels H.C.R. No. 67 72S40220 CCK-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, As the national debt surpasses $4 trillion, 1-2 continuing massive deficits in the federal budget erode the 1-3 American economy; and 1-4 WHEREAS, Governors of 43 states have available to them the 1-5 authority to veto individual items of appropriation and thereby 1-6 maintain a prudent balance between the legislative and executive 1-7 branches, as well as between state expenditures and revenue; and 1-8 WHEREAS, Presidential item veto authority would give the 1-9 nation's chief executive the discretionary capability to segregate 1-10 and eliminate unnecessary individual appropriations, in contrast to 1-11 the present situation in which the only options are to approve or 1-12 veto legislation in its entirety; and 1-13 WHEREAS, James Miller, former director of the Office of 1-14 Management and Budget, estimates that presidential item veto 1-15 authority, if available and applied to the elimination of wasteful 1-16 appropriations, could have saved the nation $450 billion over the 1-17 period from 1982 to 1989; and 1-18 WHEREAS, Future savings of that magnitude would go far toward 1-19 erasing the current federal deficit, easing the total tax burden, 1-20 stimulating productive investment, and assisting the fiscal health 1-21 of state and local governments; and 1-22 WHEREAS, Legislators of this state, long accustomed to the 1-23 item veto authority conferred by the Texas Constitution, join in 1-24 support of a constitutional amendment to refine 2-1 executive-legislative relations at the national level and to 2-2 improve the fiscal integrity of the federal government; now, 2-3 therefore, be it 2-4 RESOLVED, That the 72nd Legislature of the State of Texas, 2-5 4th Called Session, 1992, hereby apply to the Congress of the 2-6 United States to call a convention for the specific and exclusive 2-7 purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United 2-8 States to grant item veto authority to the president of the United 2-9 States; and, be it further 2-10 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-11 copies of this resolution to the speaker of the house of 2-12 representatives and to the president of the senate of the United 2-13 States Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to the 2-14 congress, with the request that this resolution be officially 2-15 entered in the Congressional Record as an application to the 2-16 Congress of the United States of America under Article V of the 2-17 Constitution of the United States; and, be it further 2-18 RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared 2-19 for the presiding officers of the legislatures of the other states 2-20 for their consideration.