[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 139 Referral Instructions Senate (RIS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 139

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 19, 1999

Mr. Robb (for himself and Mr. Hollings) 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 ``Separate Enrollment and Line Item 
Veto Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. STRUCTURE OF LEGISLATION.

    (a) Appropriations Legislation.--
            (1) In general.--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) Point of order.--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) In general.--A committee of either the House or the 
        Senate shall not report an authorization measure that contains 
        new direct spending or new tax benefits unless such measure 
        presents each new direct spending or new 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 
        tax benefits.
            (2) Point of order.--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) Appropriations.--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) Authorizations.--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 tax benefit as a separate item and the statement of 
        managers accompanying that report clearly identifies each such 
        item.
            (3) Point of order.--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) In General.--
            (1) Enrollment.--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. After disaggregation 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) Form.--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) Procedure.--The new bills resulting from the disaggregation 
described in subsection (a)(1) 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 bill 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.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriation measure.--The term ``appropriation 
        measure'' means any general or special appropriation bill or 
        any bill or joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, 
        or continuing appropriations.
            (2) Authorization measure.--The term ``authorization 
        measure'' means any measure other than an appropriations 
        measure that contains a provision providing direct spending or 
        tax benefits.
            (3) Direct spending.--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) Item.--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 tax benefit 
                presented and identified in conformance with section 
                2(b).
            (5) The term ``tax benefit'' means any provision estimated 
        by the Joint Committee on Taxation as losing revenue for any 
        one of the three following periods--
                    (A) the first fiscal year covered by the most 
                recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget;
                    (B) the period of the 5 fiscal years covered by the 
                most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the 
                budget; or
                    (C) the period of the 5 fiscal years following the 
                first 5 years covered by the most recently adopted 
                concurrent resolution on the budget.

SEC. 6. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    (a) Expedited Review.--
            (1) Member of congress.--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) Intervention by houses.--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) Panel.--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.
            (4) Authority of houses.--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.--Part A of 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. 407. 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 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 406 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 407. Point of order regarding emergencies.''.

SEC. 8. SAVINGS FROM RESCISSION BILLS USED FOR DEFICIT REDUCTION.

    (a) In General.--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; and
            (2) with respect to a repeal of direct spending, or a 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) In general.--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 subsections (a)(1) or (a)(2).
            (2) Restoration of limits.--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 subsections (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 2000 budget.
    (b) Budget Contents and Submission to Congress.--Section 1105(a) of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding after paragraph (30) 
the following:
            ``(31) beginning with fiscal year 2002, 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.--Part A of title IV of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following:

                           ``tax expenditures

    ``Sec. 408. 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. 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. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The provisions of this Act and the amendments made by 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, 2004.
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