Supreme Court strikes down Line Item Veto Act in Clinton v. City of New York

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 25, 1998, that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 was unconstitutional. Congress gave President Clinton power to cancel specific spending items from bills after signing them. Clinton used it to cancel Medicaid provisions benefiting New York and a tax break for agricultural cooperatives. Justice Stevens wrote that the Act gave the president power to unilaterally amend enacted statutes, violating the Presentment Clause. Congress cannot voluntarily hand its appropriations authority to the executive branch.