The impact of the line-item veto on the federal government of the United States is as follows:
a. It allows the president to eliminate parts of budget bills before signing them. This means that the president can selectively remove specific spending provisions from a budget bill without vetoing the entire bill. This power gives the president more control over the federal budget by allowing them to target individual items they disagree with while approving the overall budget.
b. However, the line-item veto is not currently in effect in the United States. In 1996, President Clinton was granted the power of the line-item veto, but it was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the case of Clinton v. City of New York. The Court held that the line-item veto violated the Presentment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which outlines the process for a bill to become law, by giving the president the power to unilaterally amend or repeal parts of laws passed by Congress.
In summary, while the line-item veto would have allowed the president to eliminate specific provisions from budget bills before signing them, its impact in the United States has been nullified by the Supreme Court's ruling that it is unconstitutional.
