[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4 Reference Change Senate (RCS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                  S. 4

                           [Report No. 104-9]

    To grant the power to the President to reduce budget authority.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 4, 1995

 Mr. Dole (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Coats, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Helms, Mr. 
 Murkowski, Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Bond, Mr. Grams, Mr. Gramm, Mr. DeWine, 
Mr. Brown, Mr. Burns, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. Craig, Mr. Gregg, 
Mr. Inhofe, Mrs. Kassebaum, Mr. Kempthorne, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Nickles, 
   Mr. Santorum, Mr. Shelby, Mr. Smith, Mr. Warner, Ms. Snowe, Mrs. 
  Feinstein, and Mr. Thomas) introduced the following bill; which was 
  read twice and referred jointly pursuant to the order of August 4, 
 1977, to the Committees on the Budget and Governmental Affairs, with 
 instructions that if one committee reports, the other committee have 
                 thirty days to report or be discharged

            February 27 (legislative day, February 22), 1995

    Reported by Mr. Domenici, with amendments without recommendation
  [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
  Referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs for not to exceed 
                              thirty days

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To grant the power to the President to reduce 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 ``Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENT OF SPENDING CONTROL BY THE PRESIDENT.

    The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new title:

      ``TITLE XI--LEGISLATIVE LINE ITEM VETO RESCISSION AUTHORITY

       ``PART A--LEGISLATIVE LINE ITEM VETO RESCISSION AUTHORITY

                  ``grant of authority and conditions

    ``Sec. 1101. (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the provisions of 
part B of title X and subject to the provisions of part B of this 
title, the President may rescind all or part of any budget authority, 
if the President--
            ``(1) determines that--
                    ``(A) such rescission would help balance the 
                Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or 
                reduce the public debt;
                    ``(B) such rescission will not impair any essential 
                Government functions; and
                    ``(C) such rescission will not harm the national 
                interest; and
            ``(2)(A) notifies the Congress of such rescission 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 appropriations Act or a 
        joint resolution making continuing appropriations providing 
        such budget authority; or
            ``(B) notifies the Congress of such rescission by special 
        message accompanying the submission of the President's budget 
        to Congress and such rescissions have not been proposed 
        previously for that fiscal year.
The President shall submit a separate rescission message for each 
appropriations bill under paragraph (2)(A).
    ``(b) Rescission Effective Unless Disapproved.--(1)(A) Any amount 
of budget authority rescinded under this title as set forth in a 
special message by the President shall be deemed canceled unless during 
the period described in subparagraph (B), a rescission disapproval bill 
making available all of the amount rescinded is enacted into law.
    ``(B) The period referred to in subparagraph (A) is--
            ``(i) a congressional review period of twenty calendar days 
        of session under part B, during which Congress must complete 
        action on the rescission disapproval bill and present such bill 
        to the President for approval or disapproval;
            ``(ii) after the period provided in clause (i), an 
        additional ten days (not including Sundays) during which the 
        President may exercise his authority to sign or veto the 
        rescission disapproval bill; and
            ``(iii) if the President vetoes the rescission disapproval 
        bill during the period provided in clause (ii), an additional 
        five calendar days of session after the date of the veto.
    ``(2) If a special message is transmitted by the President under 
this section during any Congress and the last session of such Congress 
adjourns sine die before the expiration of the period described in 
paragraph (1)(B), the rescission 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 paragraph 
(1)(B) (with respect to such message) shall run beginning after such 
first day.

                             ``definitions

    ``Sec. 1102. For purposes of this title the term `rescission 
disapproval bill' means a bill or joint resolution which only 
disapproves a rescission of budget authority, in whole, rescinded in a 
special message transmitted by the President under section 1101.

                          ``deficit reduction

    ``Sec. 1103. (a) If Congress fails to disapprove a rescission of 
discretionary spending under this part within the period of review 
provided under this part, the President shall, on the day after the 
period has expired, reduce the discretionary spending limits under 
section 601 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for the budget year 
and any outyear affected by the rescissions to reflect the amount of 
the rescission.
    ``(b) If Congress fails to disapprove a rescission of discretionary 
spending under this part within the period of review provided under 
this part, the chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the Senate and 
the House of Representatives shall, on the day after the period has 
expired, revise levels under section 311(a) and adjust the committee 
allocations under section 602(a) to reflect the amount of the 
rescission.
    ``(c) If Congress fails to disapprove a rescission of direct 
spending under this part within the period of review provided under 
this part, the President shall, on the day after the period has 
expired, 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 the amount of the rescission.

  ``PART B--CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATIVE LINE ITEM VETO 
                              RESCISSIONS

                     ``presidential special message

    ``Sec. 1111. Whenever the President rescinds any budget authority 
as provided in section 1101, the President shall transmit to both 
Houses of Congress a special message specifying--
            ``(1) the amount of budget authority rescinded;
            ``(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 pursuant to section 1101(a)(1);
            ``(4) to the maximum extent practicable, the estimated 
        fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the rescission; and
            ``(5) all facts, circumstances, and considerations relating 
        to or bearing upon the rescission and the decision to effect 
        the rescission, 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.

                ``transmission of messages; publication

    ``Sec. 1112. (a) Delivery to House and Senate.--Each special 
message transmitted under sections 1101 and 1111 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.
    ``(b) Printing in Federal Register.--Any special message 
transmitted under sections 1101 and 1111 shall be printed in the first 
issue of the Federal Register published after such transmittal.

                         ``procedure in senate

    ``Sec. 1113. (a) Referral.--(1) Any rescission 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.
    ``(2) Any rescission disapproval bill received in the Senate from 
the House shall be considered in the Senate pursuant to the provisions 
of this section.
    ``(b) Floor Consideration in the Senate.--
            ``(1) Debate in the Senate on any rescission 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.
            ``(2) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or 
        appeal in connection with such a 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.
            ``(3) 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.
    ``(c) Point of Order.--(1) It shall not be in order in the Senate 
or the House of Representatives to consider any rescission disapproval 
bill that relates to any matter other than the rescission of budget 
authority transmitted by the President under section 1101.
    ``(2) It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of 
Representatives to consider any amendment to a rescission 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 
<DELETED>sworn.''.</DELETED> sworn.
    ``Sec. 1114. This title shall cease to be effective on September 
30, 2002.''.
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