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 President Bush is considering casting a line-item veto as a test 
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to determine 
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whether the courts will rule 
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that he has such authority.
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 Mr. Bush has long campaigned for passage of a bill or a constitutional amendment 
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that would explicitly give him a line-item veto, 
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which would enable him to kill individual items in a big spending bill 
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without having to kill the entire bill.
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 He has argued 
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that such presidential power is necessary 
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to rein in congressional spending. 
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 But some analysts, particularly conservative legal scholars, have urged Mr. Bush not to wait for explicit authorization but simply to assert
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 that the Constitution already implicitly gives him the power 
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to exercise a line-item veto.
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 Such an assertion most likely would bring about a court challenge from Congress 
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that would clarify 
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whether a president already has such power. 
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 White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, 
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confirming comments made this week by Vice President Dan Quayle, 
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said 
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Mr. Bush is interested in finding a suitable test case. 
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But he also said 
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that exercising a test line-item veto isn't a top initiative on the president's agenda 
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because he faces more-pressing budget issues at the moment.
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