[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3523 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3523

 To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
to provide for expedited rescissions of budget authority and of limited 
                             tax benefits.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2000

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, 
 and Ways and Means, 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 expedited rescissions of budget authority and of limited 
                             tax benefits.

    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 ``Expedited Rescissions Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.

    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:

                 ``requests for expedited consideration

    ``Sec. 1013. (a) Proposed Rescission of Budget Authority or Limited 
Tax Benefits.--In addition to the method of proposing rescissions 
specified in section 1012, the President may propose, subject to the 
other provisions of this title, the expedited rescission of any budget 
authority provided in any appropriation Act or the expedited rescission 
of any limited tax benefit set forth in any revenue Act amending the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    ``(b) Transmittal of Special Message.--
            ``(1)(A) Not later than 30 calendar days after the date of 
        enactment of an appropriation Act, the President may transmit 
        to Congress a special message requesting the rescission of new 
        budget authority provided in that Act and include with that 
        special message a draft bill that, if enacted, would only 
        rescind that budget authority. That bill shall clearly identify 
        the amount of budget authority that is proposed to be rescinded 
        from each program, project, or activity funded by that Act.
            ``(B) Not later than 30 calendar days after the date of 
        enactment of any revenue Act, the President may transmit to 
        Congress a special message proposing to rescind limited tax 
        benefits set forth in that Act and include with that special 
        message a draft bill that, if enacted, would only rescind such 
        limited tax benefits.
            ``(2)(A) In proposing to rescind budget authority under 
        this section, the President shall send a separate special 
        message and accompanying draft bill for accounts within the 
        jurisdiction of each subcommittee of the Committee on 
        Appropriations.
            ``(B) In proposing to rescind limited tax benefits under 
        this section, the President shall transmit a single special 
        message to the Congress.
            ``(3)(A) 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).
            ``(B) Each special message shall specify, with respect to 
        the limited tax benefits proposed to be rescinded, the 
        following:
                    ``(i) The limited tax benefit proposed to be 
                rescinded.
                    ``(ii) The reasons for the rescission.
                    ``(iii) To the maximum extent practicable, the 
                estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the 
                rescission.
                    ``(iv) All facts, circumstances, and considerations 
                relating to or bearing upon the rescission, and to the 
                maximum extent practicable, the estimated effect of the 
                rescission upon the objects and purposes for which the 
                rescinded benefit was provided.
    ``(c) Identification of Limited Tax Benefits.--
            ``(1) ``Statement by joint tax committee.--The Joint 
        Committee on Taxation shall review any bill or joint resolution 
        that includes any amendment to the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 that is being prepared for filing by a committee of 
        conference of the two Houses, and shall identify whether such 
        bill or resolution contains any limited tax benefits. The Joint 
        Committee on Taxation shall provide to the committee of 
        conference a statement identifying any such limited tax 
        benefits or declaring that the bill or resolution does not 
        contain any limited tax benefits. Any such statement shall be 
        made available to any Member of Congress by the Joint Committee 
        on Taxation immediately upon request.
            ``(2) Statement included in legislation.--(A) 
        Notwithstanding any other rule of the House of Representatives 
        or any rule or precedent of the Senate, any bill or joint 
        resolution that includes any amendment to the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986 reported by a committee of conference of the two 
        Houses may include, as a separate section of such bill or joint 
        resolution, the information contained in the statement of the 
        Joint Committee on Taxation, but only in the manner set forth 
        in subparagraph (B).
            ``(B) The separate section permitted under subparagraph (A) 
        shall read as follows: `Section 1013(a) of the Congressional 
        Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 shall ________ apply 
        to ____________.', with the blank spaces being filled in with--
                    ``(i) in any case in which the Joint Committee on 
                Taxation identifies limited tax benefits in the 
                statement required under paragraph (1), the word `only' 
                in the first blank space and a list of all of the 
                specific provisions of the bill or joint resolution 
                identified by the Joint Committee on Taxation in such 
                statement in the second blank space; or
                    ``(ii) in any case in which the Joint Committee on 
                Taxation declares that there are no limited tax 
                benefits in the statement required under paragraph (1), 
                the word `not' in the first blank space and the phrase 
                `any provision of this Act' in the second blank space.
            ``(3) President's authority.--If any revenue bill or joint 
        resolution is signed into law pursuant to Article I, section 7, 
        of the Constitution of the United States--
                    ``(A) with a separate section described in 
                paragraph (2)(B), then the President may use the 
                authority granted in section 1013(a) only to propose to 
                rescind any limited tax benefit in that law, if any, 
                identified in such separate section; or
                    ``(B) without a separate section described in 
                paragraph (2)(B), then the President may use the 
                authority granted in section 1013(a) to propose to 
                rescind any limited tax benefit in that law that meets 
                the definition in section 1011(8).
            ``(4) Congressional identifications of limited tax 
        benefits.--There shall be no judicial review of the 
        congressional identification under paragraphs (1) and (2) of a 
        limited tax benefit in a conference report.''.

SEC. 3. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES IN HOUSE AND SENATE.

    Part B of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by adding 
at the end the following new section:

                ``procedures for expedited consideration

    ``Sec. 1019. (a) In General.--
            ``(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 the 
        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 applicable. 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 House after the bill is 
        introduced. 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 referred to in 
        subparagraph (B) shall be taken in the House of Representatives 
        on or before the close of the 10th legislative day of the House 
        after the bill is introduced. 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 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 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 
        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.
            ``(3)(A) A bill transmitted to the Senate pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) (C) shall be referred to its Committee on 
        Appropriations or the Committee on Finance, as applicable. 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 10th 
        legislative day of the Senate after it receives the bill.
            ``(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 10 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 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.
            ``(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.
    ``(b) 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.''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 1011 of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended as 
follows:
            (1) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking everything after 
        ``1012''.
            (2) Paragraph (4) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(4) `rescind' means, with respect to a limited tax 
        benefit, to prevent the specific provision of law that provides 
        such benefit from having legal force or effect, and, with 
        respect to an appropriation Act, to reduce the amount of budget 
        authority appropriated in that Act, and reducing budget 
        authority shall include reducing obligation limitations set 
        forth in that Act;''.
            (3) Paragraph (5) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(5) continuity of a session of the Congress shall be 
        considered as broken only by an adjournments of the Congress 
        sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session 
        because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain 
        shall be excluded in the computation of the 30-day period and 
        the 45-day period referred to in section 1014 and the 25-day 
        period referred to in sections 1017 and 1018; and if a special 
        message is transmitted under section 1012 or 1013 during any 
        Congress and the last session of that Congress adjourns sine 
        die before the expiration of the applicable 30-day or 45-day 
        period (or a special message is so transmitted after the last 
        session of the Congress adjourns sine die), the message shall 
        be deemed to have been retransmitted on the first day of the 
        succeeding Congress and the applicable period (with respect to 
        the message) shall commence on the next day;''.
            (4) At the end, add the following new paragraphs:
            ``(6) `legislative day' means, with respect to either House 
        of Congress, any calendar day during which that House is in 
        session;
            ``(7) `appropriation Act' means any general or special 
        appropriation Act, and any Act or joint resolution making 
        supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations; and
            ``(8) `limited tax benefit' means--
                    ``(i) any revenue-losing provision which provides a 
                Federal tax deduction, credit, exclusion, or preference 
                to 100 or fewer beneficiaries under the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986 in any fiscal year for which the 
                provision is in effect; or
                    ``(ii) any Federal tax provision which provides 
                temporary or permanent transitional relief for 10 or 
                fewer beneficiaries in any fiscal year from a change to 
                the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            ``(B) A provision shall not be treated as described in 
        subparagraph (A)(i) if the effect of that provision is that--
                    ``(i) all persons in the same industry or engaged 
                in the same type of activity receive the same 
                treatment;
                    ``(ii) all persons owning the same type of 
                property, or issuing the same type of investment, 
                receive the same treatment; or
                    ```(iii) any difference in the treatment of persons 
                is based solely on--
                            ``(I) in the case of businesses and 
                        associations, the size or form of the business 
                        or association involved;
                            ``(II) in the case of individuals, general 
                        demographic conditions, such as income, marital 
                        status, number of dependents, or tax return 
                        filing status;
                            ``(III) the amount involved; or
                            ``(IV) a generally-available election under 
                        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            ``(C) A provision shall not be treated as described in 
        subparagraph (A)(ii) if--
                    ``(i) it provides for the retention of prior law 
                with respect to all binding contracts or other legally 
                enforceable obligations in existence on a date 
                contemporaneous with congressional action specifying 
                such date; or
                    ``(ii) it is a technical correction to previously 
                enacted legislation that is estimated to have no 
                revenue effect.
            ``(D) For purposes of subparagraph (A)--
                    ``(i) all businesses and associations which are 
                related within the meaning of sections 707(b) and 
                1563(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be 
                treated as a single beneficiary;
                    ``(ii) all qualified plans of an employer shall be 
                treated as a single beneficiary;
                    ``(iii) all holders of the same bond issue shall be 
                treated as a single beneficiary; and
                    ``(iv) if a corporation, partnership, association, 
                trust, or estate is the beneficiary of a provision, the 
                shareholders of the corporation, the partners of the 
                partnership, the members of the association, or the 
                beneficiaries of the trust or estate shall not also be 
                treated as beneficiaries of such provision.
            ``(E) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `revenue-
        losing provision' means any provision which results in a 
        reduction in Federal tax revenues for any one of the two 
        following periods--
                    ``(i) the first fiscal year for which the provision 
                is effective; or
                    ``(ii) the period of the 5 fiscal years beginning 
                with the first fiscal year for which the provision is 
                effective.
            ``(F) The terms used in this paragraph shall have the same 
        meaning as those terms have generally in the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986, unless otherwise expressly provided.''.

SEC. 5. DEFERRALS PENDING RESCISSIONS.

    (a) Rescission of Budget Authority.--Section 1012 of the 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by striking ``(a)'' and by 
striking subsection (b).
    (b) Deferrals.--Section 1014 of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
(as redesignated) is amended by--
            (1) striking ``proposed deferrals of budget authority'' and 
        inserting ``deferrals'' in the heading of the section;
            (2) striking the last sentence of subsection (a) and 
        inserting ``A deferral may not extend beyond the end of the 
        fiscal year in which it begins.'';
            (3) amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
    ``(c) Temporary Deferral While Rescission Requests are Pending.--
The President may defer the obligation of budget authority subject to 
rescission under sections 1012 or 1013, or defer the implementation of 
any limited tax benefit subject to rescission under section 1013, but 
only if a special message requesting the rescission of that budget 
authority or limited tax benefit has been transmitted to Congress under 
the applicable section.''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(d) Release of Deferrals.--Any amount of budget authority 
proposed to be rescinded under section 1012 shall be made available for 
obligation within 45 calendar days of continuous session of Congress 
after the day on which it was first deferred under subsection (c) 
unless it has previously been rescinded by enactment of a statute. Any 
amount of budget authority or any limited tax benefit proposed to be 
rescinded under section 1013 shall be made available for obligation or 
shall be implemented as provided by law, as the case may be, within 30 
calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the day on which 
the applicable special message was transmitted to Congress unless it 
has previously been rescinded by enactment of a statute.
    ``(e) Prohibition on Repeated Impoundments.--Any budget authority 
or limited tax benefit proposed for rescission under section 1012 or 
section 1013 may not be proposed for rescission under this Act more 
than once.''.

SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Table of Contents.--The table of sections as set forth in 
section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 
1974 is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 1013 
        through 1017 as items relating to sections 1014 through 1018;
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 1012 
        the following new item:

``Sec. 1013. Requests for expedited consideration.'';
            (3) by amending the item relating to section 1014 (as 
        redesignated) to read as follows:

``Sec. 1014. Deferrals.'';
        and
            (4) by inserting at the end the following new item:

``Sec. 1019. Expedited procedures in House and Senate.''
    (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) Definitions.--Section 1011 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 682(5)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``1013'' and inserting 
        ``1014''; and
            (2) in paragraph (5)--
                    (A) by striking ``1016'' and inserting ``1017''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``1017(b)(1)'' and inserting 
                ``1018(b)(1)''.
    (d) Transmission of Messages.--Section 1015 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
685) (as redesignated) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``1012 or 1013'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``1012, 1013, or 1014'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``1012'' and 
        inserting ``1012 or 1013'';
            (3) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``1013'' and 
        inserting ``1014''; and
            (4) in subsection (e)(2)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (A);
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                subparagraph (C);
                    (C) by striking ``1013'' in subparagraph (C) (as so 
                redesignated) and inserting ``1014''; and
                    (D) 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''.
    (e) Reports.--Section 1016 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 686) (as 
redesignated) is amended by striking ``1012 or 1013'' each place it 
appears and inserting ``1012, 1013, or 1014''.
    (f) Comptroller General.--Section 1017 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 687) 
(as redesignated) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or a limited tax benefit is required to 
        be implemented and is not implemented,'' before ``the 
        Comptroller General is hereby expressly empowered'';
            (2) by inserting ``or such limited tax benefit to be 
        implemented'' before ``, and such court is hereby expressly 
        empowered''; and
            (3) by inserting ``or to implement such limited tax 
        benefit'' after ``to make such budget authority available for 
        obligation''.

SEC. 7. APPLICATION.

    The amendments made by this Act shall apply to legislation enacted 
during the second session of the One Hundred Sixth Congress and 
thereafter.
                                 <all>