[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1597 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1597

 To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
    to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed 
                    rescissions of budget authority.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



   Mr. Minge (for himself, Mr. Deal, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. 
 Meehan, Mr. Klein, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Mann, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. 
   Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. McHale, Mr. Baesler, and Mr. Fingerhut) 
   introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the 
             Committees on Government Operations and Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
    to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed 
                    rescissions of budget authority.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Line Item Veto Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PROPOSED RESCISSIONS AND TAX 
              EXPENDITURES.

    (a) In General.--Part B of title X of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by 
redesignating sections 1013 through 1017 as sections 1014 through 1018, 
respectively, and inserting after section 1012 the following new 
section:

       ``Expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions

    ``Sec. 1013. (a) Proposed Rescission of Budget Authority.--In 
addition to the method of rescinding budget authority specified in 
section 1012, the President may propose, at the time and in the manner 
provided in subsection (b), the rescission of any budget authority 
provided in an appropriations Act or the repeal of any tax expenditure 
in any revenue Act. Funds made available for obligation under this 
procedure may not be proposed for rescission again under this section 
or section 1012.
    ``(b) Transmittal of Special Message.--
            ``(1) Not later than seven days after the date of enactment 
        of an appropriation Act or revenue Act, as the case may be, the 
        President may transmit to Congress--
                    ``(A) a special message proposing to rescind 
                amounts of budget authority provided in that 
                appropriation Act and include with that special message 
                a draft bill that, if enacted, would only rescind that 
                budget authority; or
                    ``(B) a special message proposing to repeal any tax 
                expenditure provided in any revenue Act, and include 
                with that special message a draft bill that, if 
                enacted, would only repeal that tax expenditure.
        That bill shall clearly identify the amount of budget authority 
        that is proposed to be rescinded for each program, project, or 
        activity to which that budget authority relates.
            ``(2) In the case of an appropriation Act that includes 
        accounts within the jurisdiction of more than one subcommittee 
        of the Committee on Appropriations, the President in proposing 
        to rescind budget authority under this section shall send a 
        separate special message and accompanying draft bill for 
        accounts within the jurisdiction of each such subcommittee.
            ``(3) Each special message shall specify, with respect to 
        the budget authority proposed to be rescinded, the matters 
        referred to in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 1012(a).
    ``(c) Procedures for Expedited Consideration.--
            ``(1)(A) Before the close of the second legislative day of 
        the House of Representatives after the date of receipt of a 
        special message transmitted to Congress under subsection (b), 
        the majority leader or minority leader of the House of 
        Representatives shall introduce (by request) the draft bill 
        accompanying that special message. If the bill is not 
        introduced as provided in the preceding sentence, then, on the 
        third legislative day of the House of Representatives after the 
        date of receipt of that special message, any Member of that 
        House may introduce the bill.
            ``(B) The bill shall be referred to the Committee on 
        Appropriations or the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
        of Representatives, as appropriate. The committee shall report 
        the bill without substantive revision and with or without 
        recommendation. The bill shall be reported not later than the 
        seventh legislative day of that House after the date of receipt 
        of that special message. If the committee fails to report the 
        bill within that period, that committee shall be automatically 
        discharged from consideration of the bill, and the bill shall 
        be placed on the appropriate calendar.
            ``(C) A vote on final passage of the bill shall be taken in 
        the House of Representatives on or before the close of the 
        tenth legislative day of that House after the date of the 
        introduction of the bill in that House. If the bill is passed, 
        the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall cause the bill 
        to be engrossed, certified, and transmitted to the Senate 
        within one calendar day of the day on which the bill is passed.
            ``(2)(A) A motion in the House of Representatives to 
        proceed to the consideration of a bill under this section shall 
        be highly privileged and not debatable. An amendment to the 
        motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move 
        to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or 
        disagreed to.
            ``(B) Debate in the House of Representatives on a bill 
        under this section shall not exceed four hours, which shall be 
        divided equally between those favoring and those opposing the 
        bill. A motion further to limit debate shall not be debatable. 
        It shall not be in order to move to recommit a bill under this 
        section or to move to reconsider the vote by which the bill is 
        agreed to or disagreed to.
            ``(C) Appeals from decisions of the Chair relating to the 
        application of the Rules of the House of Representatives to the 
        procedure relating to a bill under this section shall be 
        decided without debate.
            ``(D) Except to the extent specifically provided in the 
        preceding provisions of this subsection consideration of a bill 
        under this section shall be governed by the Rules of the House 
        of Representatives.
            ``(3)(A) A bill transmitted to the Senate pursuant to 
        paragraph (1)(D) shall be referred to its Committee on 
        Appropriations or Committee on Fiance, as appropriate. The 
        committee shall report the bill without substantive revision 
        and with or without recommendation. The bill shall be reported 
        not later than the seventh legislative day of the Senate after 
        it receives the bill. A committee failing to report the bill 
        within such period shall be automatically discharged from 
        consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be placed upon 
        the appropriate calendar.
            ``(B) A vote on final passage of a bill transmitted to the 
        Senate shall be taken on or before the close of the tenth 
        legislative day of the Senate after the date on which the bill 
        is transmitted. If the bill is passed in the Senate without 
        amendment, the Secretary of the Senate shall cause the 
        engrossed bill to be returned to the House of Representatives.
            ``(4)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the 
        consideration of a bill under this section shall be privileged 
        and not debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in 
        order, nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote 
        by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
            ``(B) Debate in the Senate on a bill under this section, 
        and all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, 
        shall not exceed ten hours. The time shall be equally divided 
        between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the 
        minority leader or their designees.
            ``(C) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or 
        appeal in connection with a bill under this section shall be 
        limited to not more than one hour, to be equally divided 
        between, and controlled by, the mover and the manager of the 
        bill, except that in the event the manager of the bill is in 
        favor of any such motion or appeal, the time in opposition 
        thereto, shall be controlled by the minority leader or his 
        designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may, from time under 
        their control on the passage of a bill, allot additional time 
        to any Senator during the consideration of any debatable motion 
        or appeal.
            ``(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate on a 
        bill under this section is not debatable. A motion to recommit 
        a bill under this section is not in order.
    ``(d) Amendments and Divisions Prohibited.--No amendment to a bill 
considered under this section shall be in order in either the House of 
Representatives or the Senate. It shall not be in order to demand a 
division of the question in the House of Representatives (or in a 
Committee of the Whole) or in the Senate. No motion to suspend the 
application of this subsection shall be in order in either House, nor 
shall it be in order in either House to suspend the application of this 
subsection by unanimous consent.
    ``(e) Requirement to Make Available for Obligation.--Any amount of 
budget authority proposed to be rescinded in a special message 
transmitted to Congress under subsection (b) shall be made available 
for obligation on the day after the date on which either House rejects 
the bill transmitted with that special message.
    ``(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `appropriation Act' means any general or 
        special appropriation Act, and any Act or joint resolution 
        making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations; 
        and
            ``(2) the term `legislative day' means, with respect to 
        either House of Congress, any day during which that House is in 
        session.''.
    (b) Exercise of Rulemaking Powers.--Section 904 of such Act (2 
U.S.C. 621 note) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and 1017'' in subsection (a) and 
        inserting ``1013, and 1018''; and
            (2) by striking ``section 1017'' in subsection (d) and 
        inserting ``sections 1013 and 1018''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 1011 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 682(5)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``1013'' and 
                inserting ``1014''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (5)--
                            (i) by striking ``1016'' and inserting 
                        ``1017''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``1017(b)(1)'' and 
                        inserting ``1018(b)(1)''.
            (2) Section 1015 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 685) (as 
        redesignated by section 2(a)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``1012 or 1013'' each place it 
                appears and inserting ``1012, 1013, or 1014'';
                    (B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``1012'' and 
                inserting ``1012 or 1013'';
                    (C) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``1013'' and 
                inserting ``1014''; and
                    (D) in subsection (e)(2)--
                            (i) by striking ``and'' at the end of 
                        subparagraph (A);
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                        subparagraph (C);
                            (iii) by striking ``1013'' in subparagraph 
                        (C) (as so redesignated) and inserting 
                        ``1014''; and
                            (iv) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
                        the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) he has transmitted a special message under 
                section 1013 with respect to a proposed rescission; 
                and''.
            (3) Section 1016 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 686) (as 
        redesignated by section 2(a)) is amended by striking ``1012 or 
        1013'' each place it appears and inserting ``1012, 1013, or 
        1014''.
    (d) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for subpart B of 
title X of such Act is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 1013 
        through 1017 as items relating to sections 1014 through 1018; 
        and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 1012 
        the following new item:

       ``Sec. 1013. Expedited consideration of certain proposed 
                            rescissions.''.

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