
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995                   TAG: 9506080091
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CLINTON SAYS NO TO GOP SPENDING CUTS

Using a power he had shunned until now, President Clinton vetoed his first bill Wednesday - a Republican measure that would cut $16.4 billion in previously approved federal spending for housing, airports and other programs.

``I cannot in good conscience sign a bill that cuts education to save pet congressional projects,'' Clinton said. ``That is old politics. It is wrong.''

He combined Wednesday's veto with a provocative offer on a separate measure: He promised not to use line-item veto powers to strike GOP tax cuts if Congress sends him the long-delayed legislation giving him those powers.

``If they send it to me this year, I won't use it on any tax legislation. I will only use it on spending,'' Clinton said.

Senate GOP Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi called Clinton's offer ``a nice gesture,'' but suggested that House-Senate disagreement on the line-item veto measure was the real culprit preventing its final passage.

Republicans charged Clinton was playing politics with the bill, but acknowledged they don't have the votes to override the veto and would seek a compromise.

``The president's veto kind of compels us to address the issue,'' said Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. ``So we'll sit down with the House and Senate leadership and with the White House and negotiate a new bill.''

House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said, ``We're going to rewrite it, we're going to pass it a second time. If he wants to run for re-election, he ought to run in favor of a balanced budget, not vetoing the balanced budget.''

Clinton and the Republicans agree on about 90 percent of the bill; at issue are about 10 percent of the cuts, which the president considers too harsh.

It takes a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate to override a veto - and that rarely happens. If Clinton uses the veto frequently, he can block much of the GOP agenda from becoming law. But he would risk being blamed for the gridlock that might result.

The vetoed measure, which the Republican-controlled Congress officially delivered to Clinton on Tuesday night, would have cut spending for education, housing, job training, the environment and the National Service volunteer program, among other things.

The Associated Press contributed information to this story.

by CNB