[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4749-S4752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. Carper, Mr. McCain, Mr. Gregg, 
        Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. 
        Udall of Colorado):
  S. 3474. A bill to provide an optional fast-track procedure the 
President may use when submitting rescission requests, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on the Budget.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with the Senator 
from Delaware, Mr. Carper, and the Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, 
and others in introducing the Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010, 
a bill which effectively gives the President a line item veto to cancel 
wasteful spending.
  Based on President Obama's proposal, our measure would permit the 
President to get expedited consideration in both the House and Senate 
of a package of proposed spending cuts within larger spending bills 
Congress sends to the President. The President would have 45 days from 
when the initial spending measure was enacted to submit his proposed 
cuts, and once that package of cuts is sent to the Hill, Congress would 
have less than a month to act on them. Any savings produced if Congress 
enacts these spending cut packages would go directly to reduce the 
deficit.
  Just a few weeks ago, I chaired a hearing of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee's Constitution Subcommittee at which this proposal and 
similar proposals were reviewed, and I am pleased to say that the 
consensus of that hearing is that the bill we are introducing today is 
clearly constitutional.
  When he took office, President Obama was handed perhaps the worst 
economic and fiscal mess facing any administration since Franklin 
Roosevelt took office in 1933. The legacy President Obama inherited 
poses a gigantic challenge.
  There is no magic bullet that will solve all our budget problems. 
Congress has to make some tough decisions, and there will be no 
avoiding them if we are to get our fiscal house in order. But we can 
take some steps that will help Congress make the right decisions, and 
that can sustain the progress we make.
  A line-item veto, properly structured and respectful of the 
constitutionally central role Congress plays, as this legislation is, 
can help us get back on track.
  As I noted before, Mr. President, I am joined in this effort by a 
number of colleagues, but most notably by Senator Carper and Senator 
McCain. I have been privileged to work on a number of critical budget 
reforms with Senator Carper. He has long been an advocate of this kind 
of expedited rescission or line item veto authority, and was the lead 
author of a similarly structured measure when he served in the other 
body.
  I have also been pleased to work with Senator McCain on budget 
matters. He and I have worked together for the past two decades to 
oppose wasteful earmark spending, and more recently I have been pleased 
to work with him on line item veto proposals, including this one.
  I also thank my colleague from Wisconsin, Congressman Paul Ryan, for 
working with me on this issue for several years now. He and I belong to 
different political parties, and differ on many issues. But we do share 
at least two things in common--our hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin, 
and an abiding respect for Wisconsin's tradition of fiscal 
responsibility. Earlier this year, Congressman Ryan raised this issue 
with President Obama at a meeting in Baltimore, and I thank him for his 
efforts to advance this issue.
  The bill we introduce today is a significant step forward in our 
joint efforts to provide the President with the kind of authority 
needed to cut wasteful spending. As I noted earlier, this legislation 
is essentially the bill President Obama proposed just a few weeks ago. 
It provides the President the ability to get quick and definitive 
congressional action on cuts to individual programs in large spending 
bills.
  Currently, the President must choose between vetoing a bill in its 
entirety,

[[Page S4750]]

or signing it and possibly enacting billions of dollars of wasteful 
spending. With this bill, the President will have a third option--
signing a spending bill, but then submitting a package of proposed cuts 
from that spending bill to Congress for quick review. The package of 
cuts proposed by the President will get an up or down vote in the House 
and, if it passes there, an up or down vote in the Senate.
  Our line item veto bill covers earmark discretionary spending as well 
as broader non-entitlement spending accounts. The measure excludes 
entitlement spending and tax expenditures from the expedited rescission 
approach. Spending done through entitlements and tax expenditures make 
up an enormous amount of the total spending done by the Federal 
Government. However, unlike the programmatic spending done in 
discretionary programs, where cuts can be made by zeroing out or 
reducing a number for a specific account, reducing spending in 
entitlements or tax expenditures often requires a change in the 
underlying policy. Indeed, Congress already has a fast-track procedure 
designed specifically for considering legislation that reduces spending 
done through entitlements and tax expenditures. It is called 
reconciliation, and it was used effectively in the 1990s to reduce the 
deficit.
  As I mentioned, a key target of this new line item veto bill is the 
unauthorized earmark spending that too often finds its way into large 
appropriations bills. Earmark spending was what Congressman Ryan and I 
targeted in our line item veto proposal, and it is the example every 
line-item veto proponent cites when promoting their legislation.
  When President Bush asked for this kind of authority, the examples he 
gave when citing wasteful spending he wanted to target were 
congressional earmarks. When Members of the House or Senate tout a new 
line-item veto authority to go after government waste, the examples 
they give are congressional earmarks. When editorial pages argue for a 
new line-item veto, they, too, cite congressional earmarks as the 
reason for granting the President this new authority.
  Unauthorized congressional earmarks are a serious problem. We won't 
solve our budget problems just by addressing earmarks, but if we are to 
get our fiscal house in order, eliminating earmarks has to be part of 
the solution. For all the lip service Congress pays to this issue, 
there are still thousands of earmarked spending provisions enacted 
every year. Just last year, the Omnibus Appropriations bill for fiscal 
year 2009 passed in March of 2009 contained more than 8,000 earmarks 
costing $7 billion, and the Consolidated Appropriations bill for fiscal 
year 2010 passed in December of 2009 included nearly 5,000 earmarks, 
costing $3.7 billion.
  There is no excuse for a system that allows that kind of wasteful 
spending year after year. And given the unwillingness of Congress to 
discipline itself in this regard, it is appropriate to provide the 
President some additional authority to seek an up or down vote in 
Congress on proposed cuts in this area of spending.
  This is not a cure-all. We will not balance the budget just by 
passing a line item veto-like authority for the President. Nor will we 
balance the budget just by eliminating wasteful earmark spending. But 
we can make real progress in getting our fiscal house in order, and in 
changing the culture of Washington which over the last 2 decades has 
seen an explosion of spending done through unauthorized earmarks that 
circumvent regular congressional review and the scrutiny of the 
competitive grant process.
  Like the measure Congressman Ryan and I introduced, under this 
proposal, wasteful spending doesn't have anywhere to hide. It's out in 
the open, so that both Congress and the President have a chance to get 
rid of wasteful projects before they begin. The taxpayers--who pay the 
price for these projects--deserve a process that shows some real fiscal 
discipline, and that is what this legislation promotes.
  President Obama recognizes the pernicious effect earmarks have on the 
entire process. When he asked Congress to take the extraordinary step 
of sending him a massive economic recovery package, he knew such a 
large package of spending and tax cuts would naturally attract 
earmarks. He also recognized that were earmarks to be added to the 
bill, it would undermine his ability to get it enacted, so he rightly 
insisted it be free of earmarks.
  I am delighted he has stepped forward to propose a new line item 
veto-like authority, and I am especially pleased to be introducing that 
proposal with my colleagues today.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3474

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Reduce 
     Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010''.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to create an 
     optional fast-track procedure the President may use when 
     submitting rescission requests, which would lead to an up-or-
     down vote by Congress on the President's package of 
     rescissions, without amendment.

     SEC. 2. RESCISSIONS OF FUNDING.

       The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by striking 
     part C and inserting the following:

       ``PART C--EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED RESCISSIONS

     ``SEC. 1021. APPLICABILITY AND DISCLAIMER.

       ``The rules, procedures, requirements, and definitions in 
     this part apply only to executive and legislative actions 
     explicitly taken under this part. They do not apply to 
     actions taken under part B or to other executive and 
     legislative actions not taken under this part.

     ``SEC. 1022. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this part:
       ``(1) The terms `appropriations Act', `budget authority', 
     and `new budget authority' have the same meanings as in 
     section 3 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
       ``(2) The terms `account', `` `current year' '', `CBO', and 
     `OMB' have the same meanings as in section 250 of the 
     Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 as 
     in effect on September 30, 2002.
       ``(3) The term `days of session' shall be calculated by 
     excluding weekends and national holidays. Any day during 
     which a chamber of Congress is not in session shall not be 
     counted as a day of session of that chamber. Any day during 
     which neither chamber is in session shall not be counted as a 
     day of session of Congress.
       ``(4) The term `entitlement law' means the statutory 
     mandate or requirement of the United States to incur a 
     financial obligation unless that obligation is explicitly 
     conditioned on the appropriation in subsequent legislation of 
     sufficient funds for that purpose, and the Supplemental 
     Nutrition Assistance Program.
       ``(5) The term `funding' refers to new budget authority and 
     obligation limits except to the extent that the funding is 
     provided for entitlement law.
       ``(6) The term `rescind' means to eliminate or reduce the 
     amount of enacted funding.
       ``(7) The terms `withhold' and `withholding' apply to any 
     executive action or inaction that precludes the obligation of 
     funding at a time when it would otherwise have been available 
     to an agency for obligation. The terms do not include 
     administrative or preparatory actions undertaken prior to 
     obligation in the normal course of implementing budget laws.

     ``SEC. 1023. TIMING AND PACKAGING OF RESCISSION REQUESTS.

       ``(a) Timing.--If the President proposes that Congress 
     rescind funding under the procedures in this part, OMB shall 
     transmit a message to Congress containing the information 
     specified in section 1024, and the message transmitting the 
     proposal shall be sent to Congress not later than 45 calendar 
     days after the date of enactment of the funding.
       ``(b) Packaging and Transmittal of Requested Rescissions.--
     Except as provided in subsection (c), for each piece of 
     legislation that provides funding, the President shall 
     request at most 1 package of rescissions and the rescissions 
     in that package shall apply only to funding contained in that 
     legislation. OMB shall deliver each message requesting a 
     package of rescissions to the Secretary of the Senate if the 
     Senate is not in session and to the Clerk of the House of 
     Representatives if the House is not in session. OMB shall 
     make a copy of the transmittal message publicly available, 
     and shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of the 
     message and information on how it can be obtained.
       ``(c) Special Packaging Rules.--After enactment of--
       ``(1) a joint resolution making continuing appropriations;
       ``(2) a supplemental appropriations bill; or
       ``(3) an omnibus appropriations bill;
     covering some or all of the activities customarily funded in 
     more than 1 regular appropriations bill, the President may 
     propose as many as 2 packages rescinding funding contained in 
     that legislation, each within the 45-day period specified in 
     subsection (a). OMB shall not include the same rescission in 
     both packages, and, if the President requests the rescission 
     of more than one discrete amount of funding under the 
     jurisdiction of

[[Page S4751]]

     a single subcommittee, OMB shall include each of those 
     discrete amounts in the same package.

     ``SEC. 1024. REQUESTS TO RESCIND FUNDING.

       ``For each request to rescind funding under this part, the 
     transmittal message shall--
       ``(1) specify--
       ``(A) the dollar amount to be rescinded;
       ``(B) the agency, bureau, and account from which the 
     rescission shall occur;
       ``(C) the program, project, or activity within the account 
     (if applicable) from which the rescission shall occur;
       ``(D) the amount of funding, if any, that would remain for 
     the account, program, project, or activity if the rescission 
     request is enacted; and
       ``(E) the reasons the President requests the rescission;
       ``(2) designate each separate rescission request by number; 
     and
       ``(3) include proposed legislative language to accomplish 
     the requested rescissions which may not include--
       ``(A) any changes in existing law, other than the 
     rescission of funding; or
       ``(B) any supplemental appropriations, transfers, or 
     reprogrammings.

     ``SEC. 1025. GRANTS OF AND LIMITATIONS ON PRESIDENTIAL 
                   AUTHORITY.

       ``(a) Presidential Authority to Withhold Funding.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of law and if the 
     President proposes a rescission of funding under this part, 
     OMB may, subject to the time limits provided in subsection 
     (c), temporarily withhold that funding from obligation.
       ``(b) Expedited Procedures Available Only Once Per Bill.--
     The President may not invoke the procedures of this part, or 
     the authority to withhold funding granted by subsection (a), 
     on more than 1 occasion for any Act providing funding.
       ``(c) Time Limits.--OMB shall make available for obligation 
     any funding withheld under subsection (a) on the earliest 
     of--
       ``(1) the day on which the President determines that the 
     continued withholding or reduction no longer advances the 
     purpose of legislative consideration of the rescission 
     request;
       ``(2) starting from the day on which OMB transmitted a 
     message to Congress requesting the rescission of funding, 25 
     calendar days in which the House of Representatives has been 
     in session or 25 calendar days in which the Senate has been 
     in session, whichever occurs second; or
       ``(3) the last day after which the obligation of the 
     funding in question can no longer be fully accomplished in a 
     prudent manner before its expiration.
       ``(d) Deficit Reduction.--
       ``(1) In general.--Funds that are rescinded under this part 
     shall be dedicated only to reducing the deficit or increasing 
     the surplus.
       ``(2) Adjustment of levels in the concurrent resolution on 
     the budget.--Not later than 5 days after the date of 
     enactment of an approval bill as provided under this part, 
     the chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the Senate and 
     the House of Representatives shall revise allocations and 
     aggregates and other appropriate levels under the appropriate 
     concurrent resolution on the budget to reflect the repeal or 
     cancellation, and the applicable committees shall report 
     revised suballocations pursuant to section 302(b), as 
     appropriate.

     ``SEC. 1026. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF RESCISSION 
                   REQUESTS.

       ``(a) Preparation of Legislation to Consider a Package of 
     Expedited Rescission Requests.--
       ``(1) In general.--If the House of Representatives receives 
     a package of expedited rescission requests, the Clerk shall 
     prepare a House bill that only rescinds the amounts requested 
     which shall read as follows:
       ``There are enacted the rescissions numbered [insert number 
     or numbers] as set forth in the Presidential message of 
     [insert date] transmitted under part C of the Impoundment 
     Control Act of 1974 as amended.
       ``(2) Exclusion procedure.--The Clerk shall include in the 
     bill each numbered rescission request listed in the 
     Presidential package in question, except that the Clerk shall 
     omit a numbered rescission request if the Chairman of the 
     Committee on the Budget of the House, after consulting with 
     the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate, 
     CBO, GAO, and the House and Senate committees that have 
     jurisdiction over the funding, determines that the numbered 
     rescission does not refer to funding or includes matter not 
     permitted under a request to rescind funding.
       ``(b) Introduction and Referral of Legislation to Enact a 
     Package of Expedited Rescissions.--The majority leader or the 
     minority leader of the House or Representatives, or a 
     designee, shall (by request) introduce each bill prepared 
     under subsection (a) not later than 4 days of session of the 
     House after its transmittal, or, if no such bill is 
     introduced within that period, any member of the House may 
     introduce the required bill in the required form on the fifth 
     or sixth day of session of the House after its transmittal. 
     If such an expedited rescission bill is introduced in 
     accordance with the preceding sentence, it shall be referred 
     to the House committee of jurisdiction. A copy of the 
     introduced House bill shall be transmitted to the Secretary 
     of the Senate, who shall provide it to the Senate committee 
     of jurisdiction.
       ``(c) House Report and Consideration of Legislation to 
     Enact a Package of Expedited Rescissions.--The House 
     committee of jurisdiction shall report without amendment the 
     bill referred to it under subsection (b) not more than 5 days 
     of session of the House after the referral. The committee may 
     order the bill reported favorably, unfavorably, or without 
     recommendation. If the committee has not reported the bill by 
     the end of the 5-day period, the committee shall be 
     automatically discharged from further consideration of the 
     bill and it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar.
       ``(d) House Motion to Proceed.--
       ``(1) In general.--After a bill to enact an expedited 
     rescission package has been reported or the committee of 
     jurisdiction has been discharged under subsection (c), it 
     shall be in order to move to proceed to consider the bill in 
     the House. A Member who wishes to move to proceed to 
     consideration of the bill shall announce that fact, and the 
     motion to proceed shall be in order only during a time 
     designated by the Speaker within the legislative schedule for 
     the next calendar day of legislative session or the one 
     immediately following it.
       ``(2) Failure to set time.--If the Speaker does not 
     designate a time under paragraph (1), 3 or more calendar days 
     of legislative session after the bill has been reported or 
     discharged, it shall be in order for any Member to move to 
     proceed to consider the bill.
       ``(3) Procedure.--A motion to proceed under this subsection 
     shall not be in order after the House has disposed of a prior 
     motion to proceed with respect to that package of expedited 
     rescissions. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the motion to proceed, without intervening motion. 
     A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion to 
     proceed has been disposed of shall not be in order.
       ``(4) Removal from calendar.--If 5 calendar days of 
     legislative session have passed since the bill was reported 
     or discharged under this subsection and no Member has made a 
     motion to proceed, the bill shall be removed from the 
     calendar.
       ``(e) House Consideration.--
       ``(1) Considered as read.--A bill consisting of a package 
     of rescissions under this part shall be considered as read.
       ``(2) Points of order.--All points of order against the 
     bill are waived, except that a point of order may be made 
     that 1 or more numbered rescissions included in the bill 
     would enact language containing matter not requested by the 
     President or not permitted under this part as part of that 
     package. If the Presiding Officer sustains such a point of 
     order, the numbered rescission or rescissions that would 
     enact such language are deemed to be automatically stripped 
     from the bill and consideration proceeds on the bill as 
     modified.
       ``(3) Previous question.--The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill to its passage without 
     intervening motion, except that 4 hours of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent are 
     allowed, as well as 1 motion to further limit debate on the 
     bill.
       ``(4) Motion to reconsider.--A motion to reconsider the 
     vote on passage of the bill shall not be in order.
       ``(f) Senate Consideration.--
       ``(1) Referral.--If the House of Representatives approves a 
     House bill enacting a package of rescissions, that bill as 
     passed by the House shall be sent to the Senate and referred 
     to the Senate committee of jurisdiction.
       ``(2) Committee action.--The committee of jurisdiction 
     shall report without amendment the bill referred to it under 
     this subsection not later than 3 days of session of the 
     Senate after the referral. The committee may order the bill 
     reported favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation.
       ``(3) Discharge.--If the committee has not reported the 
     bill by the end of the 3-day period, the committee shall be 
     automatically discharged from further consideration of the 
     bill and it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar.
       ``(4) Motion to proceed.--On the following day and for 3 
     subsequent calendar days in which the Senate is in session, 
     it shall be in order for any Senator to move to proceed to 
     consider the bill in the Senate. Upon such a motion being 
     made, it shall be deemed to have been agreed to and the 
     motion to reconsider shall be deemed to have been laid on the 
     table.
       ``(5) Debate.--Debate on the bill in the Senate under this 
     subsection, and all debatable motions and appeals in 
     connection therewith, shall not exceed 10 hours, equally 
     divided and controlled in the usual form. Debate in the 
     Senate on any debatable motion or appeal in connection with 
     such a bill shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, to be 
     equally divided and controlled in the usual form. A motion to 
     further limit debate on such a bill is not debatable.
       ``(6) Motions not in order.--A motion to amend such a bill 
     or strike a provision from it is not in order. A motion to 
     recommit such a bill is not in order.
       ``(g) Senate Point of Order.--It shall not be in order 
     under this part for the Senate to consider a bill approved by 
     the House enacting a package of rescissions under this part 
     if any numbered rescission in the bill would enact matter not 
     requested by the President or not permitted under this Act as 
     part of that package. If a point of order under this 
     subsection is sustained, the bill may not be considered under 
     this part.''.

     SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Table of Contents.--Section 1(b) of the Congressional 
     Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by 
     striking

[[Page S4752]]

     the matter for part C of title X and inserting the following:

       ``PART C--Expedited Consideration of Proposed Rescissions

``Sec. 1021. Applicability and disclaimer.
``Sec. 1022. Definitions.
``Sec. 1023. Timing and packaging of rescission requests.
``Sec. 1024. Requests to rescind funding.
``Sec. 1025. Grants of and limitations on presidential authority.
``Sec. 1026. Congressional consideration of rescission requests.''.
       (b) Temporary Withholding.--Section 1013(c) of the 
     Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by striking 
     ``section 1012'' and inserting ``section 1012 or section 
     1025''
       (c) Rulemaking.--
       (1) 904(a).--Section 904(a) of the Congressional Budget Act 
     of 1974 is amended by striking ``and 1017'' and inserting 
     ``1017, and 1026''.
       (2) 904(d)(1).--Section 904 (d)(1) of the Congressional 
     Budget Act of 1974 is amended by striking ``1017'' and 
     inserting ``1017 or 1026''.

     SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO PART A OF THE IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT.

       (a) In General.--Part A of the Impoundment Control Act of 
     1974 is amended by inserting at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 1002. SEVERABILITY.

       ``If the judicial branch of the United States finally 
     determines that 1 or more of the provisions of parts B or C 
     violate the Constitution of the United States, the remaining 
     provisions of those parts shall continue in effect.''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--Section 1(b) of the Congressional 
     Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by 
     inserting at the end of the matter for part A of title X the 
     following:

``Sec. 1002. Severability.''.

     SEC. 5. EXPIRATION.

       Part C of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (as amended 
     by this Act) shall expire on December 31, 2014.

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