[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2381 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2381

 To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
               to provide line item rescission authority.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2006

   Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. McCain, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
   Sessions, Mr. Allen, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Talent, Mr. 
   DeMint, Mr. Graham, Mr. Kyl, Mr. Allard, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Enzi, Mr. 
   Brownback, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Burr, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Chafee, Mr. 
 Santorum, Mr. Thune, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Martinez, 
  Mr. Crapo, and Mr. Thomas) introduced the following bill; which was 
         read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
               to provide line item rescission 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 
2006''.

SEC. 2. LEGISLATIVE LINE ITEM VETO.

    (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 
striking part C and inserting the following: ``

                  ``Part C--Legislative Line Item Veto

       ``expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions

    ``Sec. 1021. (a) Proposed Rescissions.--The President may propose, 
at the time and in the manner provided in subsection (b), the 
rescission of any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority or 
the rescission, in whole or in part, of any item of direct spending.
    ``(b) Transmittal of Special Message.--
            ``(1) Special message.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The President may transmit to 
                Congress a special message proposing to rescind any 
                dollar amount of discretionary budget authority or any 
                item of direct spending.
                    ``(B) Contents of special message.--Each special 
                message shall specify, with respect to the budget 
                authority or item of direct spending proposed to be 
                rescinded--
                            ``(i) the amount of budget authority or the 
                        specific item of direct spending that the 
                        President proposes be rescinded;
                            ``(ii) any account, department, or 
                        establishment of the Government to which such 
                        budget authority or item of direct spending is 
                        available for obligation, and the specific 
                        project or governmental functions involved;
                            ``(iii) the reasons why such budget 
                        authority or item of direct spending should be 
                        rescinded;
                            ``(iv) 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 
                        rescission;
                            ``(v) to the maximum extent practicable, 
                        all facts, circumstances, and considerations 
                        relating to or bearing upon the proposed 
                        rescission and the decision to effect the 
                        proposed rescission, and the estimated effect 
                        of the proposed rescission upon the objects, 
                        purposes, and programs for which the budget 
                        authority or item of direct spending is 
                        provided; and
                            ``(vi) a draft bill that, if enacted, would 
                        rescind the budget authority or item of direct 
                        spending proposed to be rescinded in that 
                        special message.
            ``(2) Enactment of rescission bill.--
                    ``(A) Deficit reduction.--Amounts of budget 
                authority or items of direct spending which are 
                rescinded pursuant to enactment of a bill as provided 
                under this section shall be dedicated only to deficit 
                reduction and shall not be used as an offset for other 
                spending increases.
                    ``(B) Adjustment of committee allocations.--Not 
                later than 5 days after the date of enactment of a 
                rescission bill as provided under this section, the 
                chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the Senate 
                and the House of Representatives shall revise levels 
                under section 311(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 
                1974 and adjust the committee allocations under section 
                302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to 
                reflect the rescission, and the appropriate committees 
                shall report revised allocations pursuant to section 
                302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as 
                appropriate.
                    ``(C) Adjustments to caps.--After enactment of a 
                rescission bill as provided under this section, the 
                Office of Management and Budget shall revise applicable 
                limits under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
                Control Act of 1985, as appropriate.
    ``(c) Procedures for Expedited Consideration.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Introduction.--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) a 
                bill to rescind the amounts of budget authority or 
                items of direct spending, as specified in the special 
                message and the President's draft bill. 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) Referral and reporting.--The bill shall be 
                referred to the appropriate committee. The committee 
                shall report the bill without substantive revision and 
                with or without recommendation. The committee shall 
                report the bill not later than the fifth day of session 
                of that House after the date of introduction of the 
                bill in that House. 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) Final passage.--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 Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the 
                House of Representatives, as the case may be, shall 
                cause the bill to be transmitted to the other House 
                before the close of the next day of session of that 
                House.
            ``(2) Consideration in the house of representatives.--
                    ``(A) Motion to proceed to consideration.--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.
                    ``(B) Limits on debate.--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.
                    ``(C) Appeals.--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.
                    ``(D) Application of house rules.--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 bill introduced 
                pursuant to the provisions of this section under a 
                suspension of the rules or under a special rule.
            ``(3) Consideration in the senate.--
                    ``(A) Motion to proceed to consideration.--A motion 
                to proceed to the consideration of a bill under this 
                subsection in the Senate shall not be debatable. It 
                shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by 
                which the motion to proceed is agreed to or disagreed 
                to.
                    ``(B) Limits on debate.--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, equally divided and controlled in the usual 
                form.
                    ``(C) Appeals.--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 and controlled in the 
                usual form.
                    ``(D) Motion to limit debate.--A motion in the 
                Senate to further limit debate on a bill under this 
                subsection is not debatable.
                    ``(E) Motion to recommit.--A motion to recommit a 
                bill under this subsection is not in order.
                    ``(F) Consideration of the house bill.--
                            ``(i) In general.--If the Senate has 
                        received the House companion bill to the bill 
                        introduced in the Senate prior to the vote 
                        required under paragraph (1)(C), then the 
                        Senate may consider, and the vote under 
                        paragraph (1)(C) may occur on, the House 
                        companion bill.
                            ``(ii) Procedure after vote on senate 
                        bill.--If the Senate votes, pursuant to 
                        paragraph (1)(C), on the bill introduced in the 
                        Senate, then immediately following that vote, 
                        or upon receipt of the House companion bill, 
                        the House bill shall be deemed to be 
                        considered, read the third time, and the vote 
                        on passage of the Senate bill shall be 
                        considered to be the vote on the bill received 
                        from the House.
    ``(d) Amendments and Divisions Prohibited.--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) Temporary Presidential Authority To Withhold.--
            ``(1) In general.--At the same time as the President 
        transmits to Congress a special message pursuant to subsection 
        (b), the President may direct that any dollar amount of 
        discretionary budget authority proposed to be rescinded in that 
        special message shall not be made available for obligation for 
        a period not to exceed 180 calendar days from the date the 
        President transmits the special message to Congress.
            ``(2) Early availability.--The President may make any 
        dollar amount of discretionary budget authority deferred 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) available at a time earlier than the 
        time specified by the President if the President determines 
        that continuation of the deferral would not further the 
        purposes of this Act.
    ``(f) Temporary Presidential Authority To Suspend.--
            ``(1) In general.--At the same time as the President 
        transmits to Congress a special message pursuant to subsection 
        (b), the President may suspend the execution of any item of 
        direct spending proposed to be rescinded in that special 
        message for a period not to exceed 180 calendar days from the 
        date the President transmits the special message to Congress.
            ``(2) Early availability.--The President may terminate the 
        suspension of any item of direct spending at a time earlier 
        than the time specified by the President if the President 
        determines that continuation of the suspension would not 
        further the purposes of this Act.
    ``(g) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `appropriation law' means any general or 
        special appropriation Act, and any Act or joint resolution 
        making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing appropriations;
            ``(2) the term `deferral' has, with respect to any dollar 
        amount of discretionary budget authority, the same meaning as 
        the phrase `deferral of budget authority' defined in section 
        1011(1) in part B (2 U.S.C. 682(1));
            ``(3) the term `dollar amount of discretionary budget 
        authority' means the entire dollar amount of budget authority 
        and obligation limitations--
                    ``(A) specified in an appropriation law, or the 
                entire dollar amount of budget authority required to be 
                allocated by a specific proviso in an appropriation law 
                for which a specific dollar figure was not included;
                    ``(B) represented separately in any table, chart, 
                or explanatory text included in the statement of 
                managers or the governing committee report accompanying 
                such law;
                    ``(C) required to be allocated for a specific 
                program, project, or activity in a law (other than an 
                appropriation law) that mandates the expenditure of 
                budget authority from accounts, programs, projects, or 
                activities for which budget authority is provided in an 
                appropriation law;
                    ``(D) represented by the product of the estimated 
                procurement cost and the total quantity of items 
                specified in an appropriation law or included in the 
                statement of managers or the governing committee report 
                accompanying such law; or
                    ``(E) represented by the product of the estimated 
                procurement cost and the total quantity of items 
                required to be provided in a law (other than an 
                appropriation law) that mandates the expenditure of 
                budget authority from accounts, programs, projects, or 
                activities for which dollar amount of discretionary 
                budget authority is provided in an appropriation law;
            ``(4) the terms `rescind' or `rescission' mean to modify or 
        repeal a provision of law to prevent--
                    ``(A) budget authority from having legal force or 
                effect;
                    ``(B) in the case of entitlement authority, to 
                prevent the specific legal obligation of the United 
                States from having legal force or effect; and
                    ``(C) in the case of the food stamp program, to 
                prevent the specific provision of law that provides 
                such benefit from having legal force or effect;
            ``(5) the term `direct spending' means budget authority 
        provided by law (other than an appropriation law); entitlement 
        authority; and the food stamp program;
            ``(6) the term `item of direct spending' means any specific 
        provision of law enacted after the effective date of the 
        Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006 that is estimated to 
        result in a change in budget authority or outlays for direct 
        spending relative to the most recent levels calculated pursuant 
        to section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
        Control Act of 1985 and included with a budget submission under 
        section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, and with 
        respect to estimates made after that budget submission that are 
        not included with it, estimates consistent with the economic 
        and technical assumptions underlying the most recently 
        submitted President's budget;
            ``(7) the term `suspend the execution' means, with respect 
        to an item of direct spending or a targeted tax benefit, to 
        stop for a specified period, in whole or in part, the carrying 
        into effect of the specific provision of law that provides such 
        benefit; and
            ``(8)(A) the term `targeted tax benefit' means--
                    ``(i) any revenue-losing provision that 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; and
                    ``(ii) any Federal tax provision that 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 that are 
                members of the same controlled group of corporations 
                (as defined in section 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 the purpose of this paragraph, the term `revenue-
        losing provision' means any provision that 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; and
            ``(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.
    ``(h) Application to Targeted Tax Benefits.--The President may 
propose the repeal of any targeted tax benefit in any bill that 
includes such a benefit, under the same conditions, and subject to the 
same Congressional consideration, as a proposal under this section to 
rescind an item of direct spending.''.
    (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 ``1017, and 1021''; and
            (2) in subsection (d), by striking ``section 1017'' and 
        inserting ``sections 1017 and 1021''.
    (c) Clerical Amendments.--(1) Section 1(a) of the Congressional 
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by--
            (A) striking ``Parts A and B'' before ``title X'' and 
        inserting ``Parts A, B, and C''; and
            (B) striking the last sentence and inserting at the end the 
        following new sentence: ``Part C of title X also may be cited 
        as the `Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006'.''.
            (2) Table of contents.--The table of contents set forth in 
        section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
        Control Act of 1974 is amended by deleting the contents for 
        part C of title X and inserting the following:

                  ``Part C--Legislative Line Item Veto

        ``Sec. 1021. expedited consideration of certain proposed 
                            rescissions.''.
    (d) Severability.--If any provision of this Act or the amendments 
made by it is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act 
and the amendments made by it shall not be affected by the holding.
    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall--
            (1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) apply only to any dollar amount of discretionary budget 
        authority, item of direct spending, or targeted tax benefit 
        provided in an Act enacted on or after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
                                 <all>