How to succeed at increasing spending without really trying: The balanced budget amendment and the item veto

Congressional efforts at budgetary reform generally contain procedural impe diments designed to limit profligate spending. In particular, the line-item veto and the balanced budget amendment are intended to limit the ability o f legislators to pursue their constituents' interests through pork-barrel p olitics at the expense of the broader public interest. However, assuming th at legislators remain motivated by local constituent interests, we argue th at these reforms will promote unexpected results. The supermajorities requi res by the line-item veto and the balanced budget amendment include incenti ves for log-rolling that promote - and may indeed increase - pork-barrel sp ending.