[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 678 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 678

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 25, 1995

  Mr. Porter 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 amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
    to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed 
                     cancellations of budget items.

    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 ``Legislative Line Item Veto Act''.

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

    (a) In General.--Title X of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amended by 
adding after section 1012 the following new section:

 ``expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions and repeals 
                of tax expenditures and direct spending

    ``Sec. 1012A. (a) Proposed Cancellation of Budget Item.--The 
President may propose, at the time and in the manner provided in 
subsection (b), the cancellation of any budget item provided in any 
Act.
    ``(b) Transmittal of Special Message.--
            ``(1)(A) Subject to the time limitations provided in 
        subparagraph (B), the President may transmit to Congress a 
        special message proposing to cancel budget items and include 
        with that special message a draft bill that, if enacted, would 
        only cancel those budget items as provided in this section. The 
        bill shall clearly identify each budget item that is proposed 
        to be canceled including, where applicable, each program, 
        project, or activity to which the budget item relates. The bill 
        shall specify the amount, if any, of each budget item that the 
        President designates for deficit reduction as provided in 
        paragraph (4).
            ``(B) A special message may be transmitted under this 
        section--
                    ``(i) during the 20-calendar-day period (excluding 
                Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) commencing on 
                the day after the date of enactment of the provision 
                proposed to be rescinded or repealed; or
                    ``(ii) at the same time as the President's budget.
            ``(2) In the case of an Act that includes budget items 
        within the jurisdiction of more than one committee of a House, 
        the President in proposing to cancel such budget item under 
        this section shall send a separate special message and 
        accompanying draft bill for each such committee.
            ``(3) Each special message shall specify, with respect to 
        the budget item proposed to be canceled--
                    ``(A) the amount that the President proposes be 
                canceled;
                    ``(B) any account, department, or establishment of 
                the Government to which such budget item is available 
                for obligation, and the specific project or 
                governmental functions involved;
                    ``(C) the reasons why the budget item should be 
                canceled;
                    ``(D) to the maximum extent practicable, the 
                estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect 
                (including the effect on outlays and receipts in each 
                fiscal year) of the proposed cancellation; and
                    ``(E) all facts, circumstances, and considerations 
                relating to or bearing upon the proposed cancellation 
                and the decision to effect the proposed cancellation, 
                and to the maximum extent practicable, the estimated 
                effect of the proposed cancellation upon the objects, 
                purposes, and programs for which the budget item is 
                provided.
            ``(4)(A) Not later than 5 days after the date of enactment 
        of a bill containing an amount designated by the President for 
        deficit reduction under paragraph (1), the President shall--
                    ``(i) with respect to a rescission bill, reduce the 
                discretionary spending limits under section 601 of the 
                Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for the budget year 
                and each outyear to reflect such amount; and
                    ``(ii) with respect to a repeal of a tax 
                expenditure or direct spending, adjust the balances for 
                the budget year and each outyear under section 252(b) 
                of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
                Act of 1985 to reflect such amount.
            ``(B) Not later than 5 days after the date of enactment of 
        a bill containing an amount designated by the President for 
        deficit reduction under paragraph (1), the chairs of the 
        Committees on the Budget of the Senate and the House of 
        Representatives shall revise levels under section 311(a) and 
        adjust the committee allocations under section 602(a) to 
        reflect such amount.
    ``(c) Procedures for Expedited Consideration.--
            ``(1)(A) Before the close of the second day of session of 
        the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, 
        after the date of receipt of a special message transmitted to 
        Congress under subsection (b), the majority leader or minority 
        leader of each House shall introduce (by request) the draft 
        bill accompanying that special message. If the bill is not 
        introduced as provided in the preceding sentence in either 
        House, then, on the third day of session of that House 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 appropriate 
        committee or (in the House of Representatives) committees. The 
        committee shall report the bill without substantive revision 
        and with or without recommendation. The committee shall report 
        the bill not later than the seventh day of session of that 
        House after the date of receipt of that special message. If the 
        committee fails to report the bill within that period, the 
        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 Senate and the House of Representatives on or before the 
        close of the 10th day of session of that House after the date 
        of the introduction of the bill in that House. If the bill is 
        passed, the Clerk of the Senate or the House of 
        Representatives, as the case may be, shall cause the bill to be 
        engrossed, certified, and transmitted to the other House within 
        one calendar day of the day on which the bill is passed.
            ``(2)(A) During consideration under this subsection in the 
        House of Representatives, any Member of the House of 
        Representatives may move to strike any proposed cancellation of 
        a budget item if supported by 49 other Members.
            ``(B) A motion in the House of Representatives to proceed 
        to the consideration of a bill under this subsection 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.
            ``(C) Debate in the House of Representatives on a bill 
        under this subsection shall not exceed 4 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 
        subsection or to move to reconsider the vote by which the bill 
        is agreed to or disagreed to.
            ``(D) 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.
            ``(E) Except to the extent specifically provided in this 
        section, consideration of a bill under this section shall be 
        governed by the Rules of the House of Representatives. It shall 
        not be in order in the House of Representatives to consider any 
        rescission bill introduced pursuant to the provisions of this 
        section under a suspension of the rules or under a special 
        rule.
            ``(3)(A) During consideration of a bill under this 
        subsection in the Senate, any Member of the Senate may move to 
        strike any proposed cancellation of a budget item if supported 
        by 11 other Members.
            ``(B) It shall not be in order to move to reconsider the 
        vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
            ``(C) Debate in the Senate on a bill under this subsection, 
        and all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith 
        (including debate pursuant to subparagraph (D)), shall not 
        exceed 10 hours. The time shall be equally divided between, and 
        controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or 
        their designees.
            ``(D) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or 
        appeal in connection with a bill under this subsection shall be 
        limited to not more than 1 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.
            ``(E) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate on a 
        bill under this subsection is not debatable. A motion to 
        recommit a bill under this subsection is not in order.
            ``(F) If the Senate proceeds to consider a bill introduced 
        in the House of Representatives under paragraph (1)(A), then 
        any Senator may offer as an amendment the text of the companion 
        bill introduced in the Senate under paragraph (1)(A) as amended 
        if amended (under subparagraph (A)). Debate in the Senate on 
        such bill introduced in the House of Representatives, and all 
        debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith 
        (including debate pursuant to subparagraph (D)), and any 
        amendment offered under this subparagraph, shall not exceed 10 
        hours minus such times (if any) as Senators consumed or yielded 
back during consideration of the companion bill introduced in the 
Senate under paragraph (1)(A).
            ``(4) Debate in the House of Representatives or the Senate 
        on the conference report on any bill considered under this 
        section shall be limited to not more than 2 hours, which shall 
        be divided equally between the majority leader and the minority 
        leader. A motion further to limit debate is not debatable. A 
        motion to recommit the conference report is not in order, and 
        it is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the 
        conference report is agreed to or disagreed to.
    ``(d) Amendments and Divisions Prohibited.--Except as otherwise 
provided by this section, no amendment to a bill considered under this 
section shall be in order in either the Senate or the House of 
Representatives. 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). No motion to suspend the application of this subsection shall 
be in order in the House of Representatives, nor shall it be in order 
in the House of Representatives to suspend the application of this 
subsection by unanimous consent.
    ``(e) Requirement To Make Available for Obligation.--Any budget 
item proposed to be canceled in a special message transmitted to 
Congress under subsection (b) shall not be made available for 
obligation or take effect until 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;
            ``(2) the term `direct spending' shall have the same 
        meaning given such term in section 250(c)(8) of the Balanced 
        Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985;
            ``(3) the term `budget item' means--
                    ``(A) an amount, in whole or in part, of budget 
                authority provided in an appropriation Act;
                    ``(B) an amount of direct spending; or
                    ``(C) a targeted tax benefit;
            ``(4) the term `cancellation of a budget item' means--
                    ``(A) the rescission of any budget authority 
                provided in an appropriation Act;
                    ``(B) the repeal of any amount of direct spending; 
                or
                    ``(C) the repeal of any targeted tax benefit; and
            ``(5) the term `targeted tax benefit' means any provision 
        which has the practical effect of providing a benefit in the 
        form of a different treatment to a particular taxpayer or a 
        limited class of taxpayers, whether or not such provision is 
        limited by its terms to a particular taxpayer or a class of 
        taxpayers. Such term does not include any benefit provided to a 
        class of taxpayers distinguished on the basis of general 
        demographic conditions such as income, number of dependents, or 
        marital status.''.
    (b) Exercise of Rulemaking Powers.--Section 904 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``and 1017'' and 
        inserting ``1012A, and 1017''; and
            (2) in subsection (d), by striking ``section 1017'' and 
        inserting ``sections 1012A and 1017''.
    (c) Clerical Amendments.--The table of sections for subpart B of 
title X of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1012 the 
following:

``Sec. 1012A. Expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions 
                            and repeals of tax expenditures and direct 
                            spending.''.
    (d) Effective Period.--The amendments made by this Act shall--
            (1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act;
            (2) apply only to budget items provided in Acts enacted on 
        or after the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (3) cease to be effective on September 30, 1998.
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