[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1838-S1840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By 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):
  S. 2381. A bill to amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act of 1974 to provide line item rescission authority; to the 
Committee on the Budget.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Legislative Line 
Item Veto Act of 2006. I am proud to say there are over 20 Senators who 
have joined me as original cosponsors of this legislation, including 
our colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kerry. I wish to thank 
Senator Kerry for his support, and for the support of all of the other 
original cosponsors who have joined me on this significant legislative 
reform proposal.
  The legislation itself is long overdue. It is an authority provided 
in one version or another to 43 Governors today. It is an authority 
that has been requested by at least 11 Presidents, including Franklin 
Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Bill 
Clinton.
  The Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006, first outlined by 
President Bush yesterday, when enacted will provide the President and 
the Congress with a tool to surgically remove specific spending and 
targeted tax benefits from broader enacted legislation. Unlike the line 
item veto legislation that the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 
1998, this is clearly constitutional.
  The legislation builds upon current Presidential rescission 
authorities changing the current process to require Congress to act, 
one way or the other, on the President's proposed removal of items in 
enacted law. This new procedure guarantees an up-or-down vote on the 
President's proposed rescissions, without amendments.
  I was trying to think how to describe this procedure when people ask, 
and one might think of it as similar to the Armed Forces BRAC 
Commission process. I am really talking about the approach, the 
procedure itself. By that, I mean that the President proposes and the 
Congress, under expedited procedures, within 10 days, approves or 
disapproves of the legislation that rescinds spending, including both 
appropriation items or entitlement spending. The one spending program 
which would be exempt from this process is Social Security.
  The legislation is balanced in that it would also allow the President 
to eliminate revenue-losing provisions that provide Federal tax 
benefits to 100 or fewer beneficiaries or provide temporary or 
transitional relief to 10 or fewer beneficiaries.
  I am encouraged by the broad bipartisan support for this reform 
legislation. I hope this Congress will act on the bill to provide us 
another tool to control unnecessary and wasteful spending in tax 
expenditures. It is just good government.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. --

       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

[[Page S1839]]

     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

[[Page S1840]]

     the most recently submitted President's budget; and
       ``(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.
       ``(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.
       ``(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.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I join with Senators Frist, McCain, and 
others as a cosponsor of legislation to establish a Presidential line 
item veto. This is a fiscally prudent measure which could reduce 
wasteful spending and bring down our Nation's deficit.
  The proposal would give the President the authority to strike 
wasteful spending measures from legislation, to ensure that the 
American taxpayer is not footing the bill for projects that are not 
national priorities. I applaud President Bush for putting forth this 
initiative, which would be significant progress in the fight to reduce 
nonessential spending.
  Throughout our country's history, the line item veto has enjoyed a 
long line of bipartisan support, with Presidents such as Ulysses Grant, 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton calling for 
the authority. Additionally, the power has been given to Governors in 
43 of the 50 States.
  I am pleased that the proposed legislation would require the 
President to send recision proposals back to Congress for final 
passage. Not only does this make the legislation consistent with the 
Constitution, it also limits the scope of any President's veto 
authority, as proposed changes will need congressional approval.
  I am heartened to see this call for fiscal responsibility from 
President Bush. I have joined as a cosponsor of this legislation 
because it will be impossible for us to reduce our national debt and 
balance the Federal budget unless we curb wasteful spending. I have 
been an advocate for the pay-as-you-go budget rule, which would require 
Congress to pay for any new spending or tax cuts, and will continue to 
press for its adoption.
  Since chronic deficits add to the burden of debt we are bequeathing 
to future generations, congressional spending must be reigned in, and I 
am pleased to support this proposal which is one tool that can improve 
spending discipline in Washington.
                                 ______