[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 592 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 592
To grant the power to the President to reduce budget authority.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 16, 1997
Mr. Hollings (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Biden, and Mr. Robb)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Rules and Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
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 ``The Separate Enrollment and Line
Item Veto Act of 1997''.
SEC. 2. STRUCTURE OF LEGISLATION.
(a) Appropriations Legislation.--
(1) The Committee on Appropriations of either the House or
the Senate shall not report an appropriation measure that fails
to contain such level of detail on the allocation of an item of
appropriation proposed by that House as is set forth in the
committee report accompanying such bill.
(2) If an appropriation measure is reported to the House or
Senate that fails to contain the level of detail on the
allocation of an item of appropriation as required in paragraph
(1), it shall not be in order in that House to consider such
measure. If a point of order under this paragraph is sustained,
the measure shall be recommitted to the Committee on
Appropriations of that House.
(b) Authorization Legislation.--
(1) A committee of either the House or the Senate shall not
report an authorization measure that contains new direct
spending or new targeted tax benefits unless such measure
presents each new direct spending or new targeted tax benefit
as a separate item and the accompanying committee report for
that measure shall contain such level of detail as is necessary
to clearly identify the allocation of new direct spending or
new targeted tax benefits.
(2) If an authorization measure is reported to the House or
Senate that fails to comply with paragraph (1), it shall not be
in order in that House to consider such measure. If a point of
order under this paragraph is sustained, the measure shall be
recommitted to the committee of jurisdiction of that House.
(c) Conference Reports.--
(1) A committee of conference to which is committed an
appropriations measure shall not file a conference report in
either House that fails to contain the level of detail on the
allocation of an item of appropriation as is set forth in the
statement of managers accompanying that report.
(2) A committee of conference to which is committed an
authorization measure shall not file a conference report in
either House unless such measure presents each direct spending
or targeted tax benefit as a separate item and the statement of
managers accompanying that report clearly identifies each such
item.
(3) If a conference report is presented to the House or
Senate that fails to comply with either paragraph (1) or (2),
it shall not be in order in that House to consider such
conference report. If a point of order under this paragraph is
sustained in the House to first consider the conference report,
the measure shall be deemed recommitted to the committee of
conference.
SEC. 3. WAIVERS AND APPEALS.
Any provision of section 2 may be waived or suspended in the House
or Senate only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of
that House duly chosen and sworn. An affirmative vote of three-fifths
of the Members duly chosen and sworn shall be required to sustain an
appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under that
section.
SEC. 4. SEPARATE ENROLLMENT.
(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when any
appropriation or authorization measure first passes both Houses of
Congress in the same form, the Secretary of the Senate (in the case of
a measure originating in the Senate) or the Clerk of the House of
Representatives (in the case of a measure originating in the House of
Representatives) shall disaggregate the items as referenced in section
5(4) and assign each item a new bill number. Henceforth each item shall
be treated as a separate bill to be considered under the following
subsections. The remainder of the bill not so disaggregated shall
constitute a separate bill and shall be considered with the other
disaggregated bills pursuant to subsection (b).
(2) A bill that is required to be disaggregated into separate bills
pursuant to paragraph (1)--
(A) shall be disaggregated without substantive revision,
and
(B) shall bear the designation of the measure of which it
was an item prior to such disaggregation, together with such
other designation as may be necessary to distinguish such
measure from other measures disaggregated pursuant to paragraph
(1) with respect to the same measure.
(b) The new bills resulting from the disaggregation described in
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be immediately placed on the
appropriate calendar in the House of origination, and upon passage,
placed on the appropriate calendar in the other House. They shall be
the next order of business in each House and they shall be considered
and voted on en bloc and shall not be subject to amendment. A motion to
proceed to the bills shall be nondebatable. Debate in the House of
Representatives or the Senate on the bills shall be limited to not more
than 1 hour, 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 bills is not in order, and it is
not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the bills are
agreed to or disagreed to.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ``appropriation measure'' means any general or
special appropriation bill or any bill or joint resolution
making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations.
(2) The term ``authorization measure'' means any measure
other than an appropriations measure that contains a provision
providing direct spending or targeted tax benefits.
(3) The term ``direct spending'' shall have the same
meaning given to such term in section 250(c)(8) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
(4) The term ``item'' means--
(A) with respect to an appropriations measure--
(i) any numbered section,
(ii) any unnumbered paragraph, or
(iii) any allocation or suballocation of an
appropriation, made in compliance with section
2(a), contained in a numbered section or an
unnumbered paragraph but shall not include a
provision which does not appropriate funds,
direct the President to expend funds for any
specific project, or create an express or
implied obligation to expend funds and--
(I) rescinds or cancels existing
budget authority;
(II) only limits, conditions, or
otherwise restricts the President's
authority to spend otherwise
appropriated funds; or
(III) conditions on an item of
appropriation not involving a positive
allocation of funds by explicitly
prohibiting the use of any funds; and
(B) with respect to an authorization measure--
(i) any numbered section, or
(ii) any unnumbered paragraph,
that contains new direct spending or a new targeted tax
benefit presented and identified in conformance with
section 2(b).
(5) The term ``targeted tax benefit'' means any provision:
(A) estimated by the Joint Committee on Taxation as
losing revenue for any one of the three following
periods--
(i) the first fiscal year covered by the
most recently adopted concurrent resolution on
the budget;
(ii) the period of the 5 fiscal years
covered by the most recently adopted concurrent
resolution on the budget; or
(iii) the period of the 5 fiscal years
following the first 5 years coveredby the most
recently adopted concurrent resolution on the
budget; and
(B) having the practical effect of providing more
favorable tax treatment to a particular taxpayer or
limited group of taxpayers when compared with other
similarly situated taxpayers.
SEC. 6. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
(a) Expedited Review.--
(1) Any Member of Congress may bring an action, in the
United States District Court for the District of Columbia, for
declaratory judgment and injunctive relief on the ground that a
provision of this Act violates the Constitution.
(2) A copy of any complaint in an action brought under
paragraph (1) shall be promptly delivered to the Secretary of
the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and
each House of Congress shall have the right to intervene in
such action.
(3) Any action brought under paragraph (1) shall be heard
and determined by a three-judge court in accordance with
section 2284 of title 28, United States Code.
Nothing in this section or in any other law shall infringe upon the
right of the House of Representatives or the Senate to intervene in an
action brought under paragraph (1) without the necessity of adopting a
resolution to authorize such intervention.
(b) Appeal to Supreme Court.--Notwithstanding any other provisions
of law, any order of the United States District Court for the District
of Columbia which is issued pursuant to an action brought under
paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be reviewable by appeal directly
to the Supreme Court of the United States. Any such appeal shall be
taken by a notice of appeal filed within 10 days after such order is
entered; and the jurisdictional statement shall be filed within 30 days
after such order is entered. No stay of an order issued pursuant to an
action brought under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be issued by
a single Justice of the Supreme Court.
(c) Expedited Consideration.--It shall be the duty of the District
Court for the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court of the United
States to advance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest
possible extent the disposition of any matter brought under subsection
(a).
(d) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, or the application
of such provision to any person or circumstance is held
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of the
provisions of such Act to any person or circumstance shall not be
affected thereby.
SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF EMERGENCY SPENDING.
(a) Emergency Appropriations.--Section 251(b)(2)(D)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by
adding at the end the following new sentence: ``However, OMB shall not
adjust any discretionary spending limit under this clause for any
statute that designates appropriations as emergency requirements if
that statute contains an appropriation for any other matter, event, or
occurrence, but that statute may contain rescissions of budget
authority.''.
(b) Emergency Legislation.--Section 252(e) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the
end the following new sentence: ``However, OMB shall not designate any
such amounts of new budget authority, outlays, or receipts as emergency
requirements in the report required under subsection (d) if that
statute contains any other provisions that are not so designated, but
that statute may contain provisions that reduce direct spending.''.
(c) New Point of Order.--Title IV of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``point of order regarding emergencies
``Sec. 408. It shall not be in order in the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill or joint resolution,
or amendment thereto or conference report thereon, containing an
emergency designation for purposes of section 251(b)(2)(D) or 252(e) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 if it
also provides an appropriation or direct spending for any other item or
contains any other matter, but that bill or joint resolution,
amendment, or conference report may contain rescissions of budget
authority or reductions of direct spending, or that amendment may
reduce amounts for that emergency.''.
(d) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents set forth in
section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 407 the
following new item:
``Sec. 408. Point of order regarding emergencies.''.
SEC. 8. SAVINGS FROM RESCISSION BILLS USED FOR DEFICIT REDUCTION.
(a) Not later than 45 days of continuous session after the
President vetoes an appropriations measure or an authorization measure,
the President shall--
(1) with respect to appropriations measures, reduce the
discretionary spending limits under section 601 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for the budget year and each
outyear by the amount by which the measure would have increased
the deficit in each respective year;
(2) with respect to a repeal of direct spending, or a
targeted tax benefit, reduce the balances for the budget year
and each outyear under section 252(b) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 by the amount by
which the measure would have increased the deficit in each
respective year.
(b) Exceptions.--
(1) This section shall not apply if the vetoed
appropriations measure or authorization measure becomes law,
over the objections of the President, before the President
orders the reduction required by subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2).
(2) If the vetoed appropriations measure or authorization
measure becomes law, over the objections of the President,
after the President has ordered the reductions required by
subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), then the President shall restore
the discretionary spending limits under section 601 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 or the balances under section
252(b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act
of 1985 to reflect the positions existing before the reduction
ordered by the President in compliance with subsection (a).
SEC. 9. EVALUATION AND SUNSET OF TAX EXPENDITURES.
(a) Legislation for Sunsetting Tax Expenditures.--The President
shall submit legislation for the periodic review, reauthorization, and
sunset of tax expenditures with his fiscal year 1999 budget.
(b) Budget Contents and Submission to Congress.--Section 1105(a) of
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following paragraph:
``(30) beginning with fiscal year 1999, a Federal
Government performance plan for measuring the overall
effectiveness of tax expenditures, including a schedule for
periodically assessing the effects of specific tax expenditures
in achieving performance goals.''.
(c) Pilot Projects.--Section 1118(c) of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by--
(1) striking ``and'' after the semicolon in paragraph (2);
(2) redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and
(3) adding after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) describe the framework to be utilized by the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget, after consultation with
the Secretary of the Treasury, the Comptroller General of the
United States, and the Joint Committee on Taxation, for
undertaking periodic analyses of the effects of tax
expenditures in achieving performance goals and the
relationship between tax expenditures and spending programs;
and''.
(d) Congressional Budget Act.--Title IV of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
``tax expenditures
``Sec. 409. It shall not be in order in the House of
Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution,
amendment, motion, or conference report that contains a tax expenditure
unless the bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference
report provides that the tax expenditure will terminate not later than
10 years after the date of enactment of the tax expenditure.''.
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The provisions of this Act shall apply to measures passed by the
Congress beginning with the date of the enactment of this Act and
ending on September 30, 2002.
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