Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to propose the rescission of any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority or the rescission, in whole or in part, of any item of direct spending.
Sets forth requirements for the President's transmittal to Congress of a special message regarding a proposed rescission.
Requires any rescinded budget authority or items of direct spending to be dedicated only to deficit reduction, and not to be used as an offset for other spending increases.
Provides for adjustment of: (1) committee allocations resulting from such rescission; and (3) applicable limits, as appropriate, under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
Sets forth procedures for expedited congressional consideration of a proposed rescission.
[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>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1838)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1838-1840)
Committee on the Budget. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 109-650.
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