Granholm pledges to use line item veto

Gov. Jennifer Granholm turned up the heat on state legislators, particularly Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop and the Republican-controlled Senate, by declaring on Monday that she will use the line-item veto in order to free up money to reverse or reduce spending cuts, including cuts in the Michigan Promise scholarship, Medicaid reimbursement and revenue sharing for local governments. The Detroit News reports:

Granholm reiterated that some of the budget cuts go “far too deep.” She said she’s made it clear she wants funding for Promise grants for college students, revenue sharing local governments use for police and fire protection and Medicaid health care that covers the poor and seniors in nursing homes.

“It’s my intention to fight for those priorities,” she said. “I will veto things I don’t think are as important as the priorities I’ve defined.”

The governor acknowledged she cannot add money to budgets with her veto pen, but noted she has the authority to transfer money from items she vetoes to her priorities through the little-known State Administrative Board — a body stacked with her cabinet appointees.

“I’m not saying I will do that,” she said. “I’m saying it’s an option.”

She also criticized Bishop for withholding six budget bills that have been passed through the procedural trick of not giving those bills immediate effect. Bishop is putting off sending those bills until the last moment to put pressure on Granholm not to veto them and risk another government shutdown. Granholm recognizes that strategy and addressed it in her comments, saying Bishop “is afraid I am going to veto portions of those bills. He’s correct. I am.”

All of this is yet another game of chicken and the last moment for either side to turn will be October 30th. Granholm is now pulling out her biggest guns, the boldest moves she has the authority to make in order to fight for the budget she wants. The line-item veto is a very powerful weapon, allowing her to strike out provisions in bills and require both houses of Congress to get a 2/3 vote to override, which is very unlikely in either chamber.

Bishop does not have any tool at his disposal that holds the kind of leverage that veto holds, so he has to rely on public pressure getting to Granholm. If he holds those budget bills until the last possible moment, he takes the gamble that the public will blame Granholm for any government shutdown that would result from her vetos. And in the meantime, he at least places some pressure on the governor to negotiate a compromise that would save both sides from the risk of getting that blame.

But in the end, Granholm has the power to force the legislature’s hand if she’s willing to risk a shutdown that lasts more than just a few hours in the middle of the night. For the first time, she is making statements that appear to be ominous. Whether she means it or whether she is just using the threat to get her way remains to be seen.