[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 2

 To give the President item veto authority over appropriation Acts and 
                 targeted tax benefits in revenue Acts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 1995

 Mr. Clinger, Mr. Blute, Mr. Neumann, and Mr. Parker (for themselves, 
   Mr. Allard, Mr. Armey, Mr. Baker of California, Mr. Bunning, Mr. 
 Bachus, Mr. Ballenger, Mr. Barr, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Barton 
    of Texas, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Bono, Mr. Bryant of Tennessee, Mr. 
Brownback, Mr. Burr, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Callahan, 
 Mr. Camp, Mr. Canady, Mr. Castle, Mr. Christensen, Mr. Chrysler, Mr. 
 Coburn, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Miss Collins of Michigan, Mr. Cooley, 
   Mr. Cox, Mr. Crane, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cremeans, Mr. Cunningham, Ms. 
Danner, Mr. Davis, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Dornan, Mr. Dreier, Ms. Dunn, Mr. 
  Emerson, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Everett, Mr. 
Ewing, Mr. Fawell, Mr. Flanagan, Mr. Foley, Mr. Forbes, Ms. Fowler, Mr. 
    Fox, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Frisa, Mr. Ganske, Mr. Gillmor, Mr. 
 Goodlatte, Mr. Goodling, Mr. Goss, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Gunderson, Mr. 
 Hall of Texas, Mr. Hancock, Mr. Hastert, Mr. Hastings of Washington, 
 Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Heineman, Mr. Herger, Mr. Hilleary, Mr. Hobson, Mr. 
   Hoke, Mr. Hostettler, Mr. Horn, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. 
Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Istook, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. 
Jones, Mr. Kim, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Knollenberg, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Largent, 
   Mr. Latham, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Lazio, Mr. Lewis of Kentucky, Mr. 
  Lightfoot, Mr. Linder, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Longley, Mr. McCollum, Mr. 
 McHugh, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. Mica, Mr. Miller of Florida, Ms. Molinari, 
    Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Nussle, Mr. Oxley, Mr. Packard, Mr. Pombo, Mr. 
 Portman, Mr. Quillen, Mr. Quinn, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. 
Riggs, Mr. Roth, Mr. Royce, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Schaefer, Mr. 
Sensenbrenner, Mr. Shadegg, Mr. Shaw, Mr. Shays, Mr. Smith of Michigan, 
Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Solomon, Mr. Stearns, 
  Mr. Stockman, Mr. Stump, Mr. Talent, Mr. Tate, Mr. Taylor of North 
 Carolina, Mr. Thornberry, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Upton, Mrs. Waldholtz, Mr. 
Wamp, Mr. Weldon of Florida, Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, Mr. Whitfield, 
 Mr. Wicker, Mr. Weller, Mr. Zeliff, Mr. Zimmer, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. Paxon, 
  Mr. Young of Florida, Mr. Combest, Mr. Coble, Mr. Ehrlich, and Mrs. 
Meyers of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, and in addition to 
 the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
          within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To give the President item veto authority over appropriation Acts and 
                 targeted tax benefits in revenue Acts.

    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. LINE ITEM VETO AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the provisions of part B of title 
X of The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, and 
subject to the provisions of this section, the President may rescind 
all or part of any discretionary budget authority or veto any targeted 
tax benefit which is subject to the terms of this Act if the 
President--
            (1) determines that--
                    (A) such rescission or veto would help reduce the 
                Federal budget deficit;
                    (B) such rescission or veto will not impair any 
                essential Government functions; and
                    (C) such rescission or veto will not harm the 
                national interest; and
            (2) notifies the Congress of such rescission or veto by a 
        special message not later than twenty calendar days (not 
        including Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays) after the date of 
        enactment of a regular or supplemental appropriation Act or a 
        joint resolution making continuing appropriations providing 
        such budget authority or a revenue Act containing a targeted 
        tax benefit.
The President shall submit a separate rescission message for each 
appropriation Act and for each revenue Act under this paragraph.

SEC. 3. LINE ITEM VETO EFFECTIVE UNLESS DISAPPROVED.

    (a)(1) Any amount of budget authority rescinded under this Act as 
set forth in a special message by the President shall be deemed 
canceled unless, during the period described in subsection (b), a 
rescission/receipts disapproval bill making available all of the amount 
rescinded is enacted into law.
    (2) Any provision of law vetoed under this Act as set forth in a 
special message by the President shall be deemed repealed unless, 
during the period described in subsection (b), a rescission/receipts 
disapproval bill restoring that provision is enacted into law.
    (b) The period referred to in subsection (a) is--
            (1) a congressional review period of twenty calendar days 
        of session during which Congress must complete action on the 
        rescission/receipts disapproval bill and present such bill to 
        the President for approval or disapproval;
            (2) after the period provided in paragraph (1), an 
        additional ten days (not including Sundays) during which the 
        President may exercise his authority to sign or veto the 
        rescission/receipts disapproval bill; and
            (3) if the President vetoes the rescission/receipts 
        disapproval bill during the period provided in paragraph (2), 
        an additional five calendar days of session after the date of 
        the veto.
    (c) If a special message is transmitted by the President under this 
Act and the last session of the Congress adjourns sine die before the 
expiration of the period described in subsection (b), the rescission or 
veto, as the case may be, shall not take effect. The message shall be 
deemed to have been retransmitted on the first day of the succeeding 
Congress and the review period referred to in subsection (b) (with 
respect to such message) shall run beginning after such first day.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``rescission/receipts disapproval bill'' means 
        a bill or joint resolution which--
                    (A) only disapproves a rescission of discretionary 
                budget authority, in whole, rescinded, or
                    (B) only disapproves a veto of any targeted tax 
                benefit,
        in a special message transmitted by the President under this 
        Act.
            (2) The term ``calendar days of session'' shall mean only 
        those days on which both Houses of Congress are in session.
            (3) The term ``targeted tax benefit'' means any provision 
        of a revenue Act which the President determines would provide a 
        Federal tax benefit to 5 or fewer taxpayers.

SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF LINE ITEM VETOES.

    (a) Presidential Special Message.--Whenever the President rescinds 
any budget authority as provided in this Act or vetoes any provision of 
law as provided in this Act, the President shall transmit to both 
Houses of Congress a special message specifying--
            (1) the amount of budget authority rescinded or the 
        provision vetoed;
            (2) any account, department, or establishment of the 
        Government to which such budget authority is available for 
        obligation, and the specific project or governmental functions 
        involved;
            (3) the reasons and justifications for the determination to 
        rescind budget authority or veto any provision pursuant to this 
        Act;
            (4) to the maximum extent practicable, the estimated 
        fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the rescission or 
        veto; and
            (5) all actions, circumstances, and considerations relating 
        to or bearing upon the rescission or veto and the decision to 
        effect the rescission or veto, and to the maximum extent 
        practicable, the estimated effect of the rescission upon the 
        objects, purposes, and programs for which the budget authority 
        is provided.
    (b) Transmission of Messages to House and Senate.--
            (1) Each special message transmitted under this Act shall 
        be transmitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate 
        on the same day, and shall be delivered to the Clerk of the 
        House of Representatives if the House is not in session, and to 
        the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not in session. 
        Each special message so transmitted shall be referred to the 
        appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate. Each such message shall be printed as a document of 
        each House.
            (2) Any special message transmitted under this Act shall be 
        printed in the first issue of the Federal Register published 
        after such transmittal.
    (c) Referral of Rescission/Receipts Disapproval Bills.--Any 
rescission/receipts disapproval bill introduced with respect to a 
special message shall be referred to the appropriate committees of the 
House of Representatives or the Senate, as the case may be.
    (d) Consideration in the Senate.--
            (1) Any rescission/receipts disapproval bill received in 
        the Senate from the House shall be considered in the Senate 
        pursuant to the provisions of this Act.
            (2) Debate in the Senate on any rescission/receipts 
        disapproval bill and debatable motions and appeals in 
        connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than ten 
        hours. The time shall be equally divided between, and 
        controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or 
        their designees.
            (3) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motions or appeal 
        in connection with such bill shall be limited to 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 the 
        time under their control on the passage of the bill, allot 
        additional time to any Senator during the consideration of any 
        debatable motion or appeal.
            (4) A motion to further limit debate is not debatable. A 
        motion to recommit (except a motion to recommit with 
        instructions to report back within a specified number of days 
        not to exceed one, not counting any day on which the Senate is 
        not in session) is not in order.
    (e) Points of Order.--
            (1) It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of 
        Representatives to consider any rescission/receipts disapproval 
        bill that relates to any matter other than the rescission of 
        budget authority or veto of the provision of law transmitted by 
        the President under this Act.
            (2) It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of 
        Representatives to consider any amendment to a rescission/
        receipts disapproval bill.
            (3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) may be waived or suspended in 
        the Senate only by a vote of three-fifths of the members duly 
        chosen and sworn.
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