I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1597
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions
of budget authority.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. MINGE (for himself, Mr. DEAL, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr.
MEEHAN, Mr. KLEIN, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. MANN, Mr. JOHNSON of Geor-
gia, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. MCHALE, Mr. BAESLER, and Mr.
FINGERHUT) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to
the Committees on Government Operations and Rules
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974 to provide for the expedited consider-
ation of certain proposed rescissions of budget authority.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Line Item Veto Act’’.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PRO-
POSED 
RESCISSIONS 
AND 
TAX 
EXPENDI-
TURES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title X of the Congres-
sional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2
U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by redesignating sections
1013 through 1017 as sections 1014 through 1018, re-
spectively, and inserting after section 1012 the following
new section:
‘‘EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PROPOSED
RESCISSIONS
‘‘SEC. 1013. (a) PROPOSED RESCISSION OF BUDGET
AUTHORITY.—In addition to the method of rescinding
budget authority specified in section 1012, the President
may propose, at the time and in the manner provided in
subsection (b), the rescission of any budget authority pro-
vided in an appropriations Act or the repeal of any tax
expenditure in any revenue Act. Funds made available for
obligation under this procedure may not be proposed for
rescission again under this section or section 1012.
‘‘(b) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.—
‘‘(1) Not later than seven days after the date
of enactment of an appropriation Act or revenue
Act, as the case may be, the President may transmit
to Congress—
‘‘(A) a special message proposing to re-
scind amounts of budget authority provided in
that appropriation Act and include with that
special message a draft bill that, if enacted,
would only rescind that budget authority; or
‘‘(B) a special message proposing to repeal
any tax expenditure provided in any revenue
Act, and include with that special message a
draft bill that, if enacted, would only repeal
that tax expenditure.
That bill shall clearly identify the amount of budget
authority that is proposed to be rescinded for each
program, project, or activity to which that budget
authority relates.
‘‘(2) In the case of an appropriation Act that
includes accounts within the jurisdiction of more
than one subcommittee of the Committee on Appro-
priations, the President in proposing to rescind
budget authority under this section shall send a sep-
arate special message and accompanying draft bill
for accounts within the jurisdiction of each such sub-
committee.
‘‘(3) Each special message shall specify, with
respect to the budget authority proposed to be re-
scinded, the matters referred to in paragraphs (1)
through (5) of section 1012(a).
‘‘(c) PROCEDURES
FOR
EXPEDITED
CONSIDER-
ATION.—
‘‘(1)(A) Before the close of the second legisla-
tive day of the House of Representatives after the
date of receipt of a special message transmitted to
Congress under subsection (b), the majority leader
or minority leader of the House of Representatives
shall introduce (by request) the draft bill accom-
panying that special message. If the bill is not intro-
duced as provided in the preceding sentence, then,
on the third legislative day of the House of Rep-
resentatives after the date of receipt of that special
message, any Member of that House may introduce
the bill.
‘‘(B) The bill shall be referred to the Commit-
tee on Appropriations or the Committee on Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives, as ap-
propriate. The committee shall report the bill with-
out substantive revision and with or without rec-
ommendation. The bill shall be reported not later
than the seventh legislative day of that House after
the date of receipt of that special message. If the
committee fails to report the bill within that period,
that committee shall be automatically discharged
from consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be
placed on the appropriate calendar.
‘‘(C) A vote on final passage of the bill shall be
taken in the House of Representatives on or before
the close of the tenth legislative day of that House
after the date of the introduction of the bill in that
House. If the bill is passed, the Clerk of the House
of Representatives shall cause the bill to be en-
grossed, certified, and transmitted to the Senate
within one calendar day of the day on which the bill
is passed.
‘‘(2)(A) A motion in the House of Representa-
tives to proceed to the consideration of a bill under
this section shall be highly privileged and not debat-
able. 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 dis-
agreed to.
‘‘(B) Debate in the House of Representatives
on a bill under this section shall not exceed four
hours, which shall be divided equally between those
favoring and those opposing the bill. A motion fur-
ther to limit debate shall not be debatable. It shall
not be in order to move to recommit a bill under this
section or to move to reconsider the vote by which
the bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
‘‘(C) Appeals from decisions of the Chair relat-
ing 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) Except to the extent specifically provided
in the preceding provisions of this subsection consid-
eration of a bill under this section shall be governed
by the Rules of the House of Representatives.
‘‘(3)(A) A bill transmitted to the Senate pursu-
ant to paragraph (1)(D) shall be referred to its
Committee on Appropriations or Committee on Fi-
ance, as appropriate. The committee shall report the
bill without substantive revision and with or without
recommendation. The bill shall be reported not later
than the seventh legislative day of the Senate after
it receives the bill. A committee failing to report the
bill within such period shall be automatically dis-
charged from consideration of the bill, and the bill
shall be placed upon the appropriate calendar.
‘‘(B) A vote on final passage of a bill transmit-
ted to the Senate shall be taken on or before the
close of the tenth legislative day of the Senate after
the date on which the bill is transmitted. If the bill
is passed in the Senate without amendment, the Sec-
retary of the Senate shall cause the engrossed bill to
be returned to the House of Representatives.
‘‘(4)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to
the consideration of a bill under this section shall be
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) Debate in the Senate on a bill under this
section, and all debatable motions and appeals in
connection therewith, shall not exceed ten hours.
The time shall be equally divided between, and con-
trolled by, the majority leader and the minority lead-
er or their designees.
‘‘(C) Debate in the Senate on any debatable
motion or appeal in connection with a bill under this
section shall be limited to not more than one hour,
to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the
mover and the manager of the bill, except that in
the event the manager of the bill is in favor of any
such motion or appeal, the time in opposition there-
to, shall be controlled by the minority leader or his
designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may, from
time under their control on the passage of a bill,
allot additional time to any Senator during the con-
sideration of any debatable motion or appeal.
‘‘(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit
debate on a bill under this section is not debatable.
A motion to recommit a bill under this section is not
in order.
‘‘(d) AMENDMENTS AND DIVISIONS PROHIBITED.—
No amendment to a bill considered under this section shall
be in order in either the House of Representatives or the
Senate. It shall not be in order to demand a division of
the question in the House of Representatives (or in a Com-
mittee of the Whole) or in the Senate. No motion to sus-
pend the application of this subsection shall be in order
in either House, nor shall it be in order in either House
to suspend the application of this subsection by unanimous
consent.
‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR OBLI-
GATION.—Any amount of budget authority proposed to be
rescinded in a special message transmitted to Congress
under subsection (b) shall be made available for obligation
on the day after the date on which either House rejects
the bill transmitted with that special message.
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriation Act’ means any
general or special appropriation Act, and any Act or
joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or
continuing appropriations; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘legislative day’ means, with re-
spect to either House of Congress, any day during
which that House is in session.’’.
(b) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWERS.—Section
904 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 621 note) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and 1017’’ in subsection (a)
and inserting ‘‘1013, and 1018’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘section 1017’’ in subsection (d)
and inserting ‘‘sections 1013 and 1018’’.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 1011 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 682(5))
is amended—
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘1013’’
and inserting ‘‘1014’’; and
(B) in paragraph (5)—
(i) by striking ‘‘1016’’ and inserting
‘‘1017’’; and
(ii) by striking ‘‘1017(b)(1)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘1018(b)(1)’’.
(2) Section 1015 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 685)
(as redesignated by section 2(a)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘1012 or 1013’’ each place
it appears and inserting ‘‘1012, 1013, or
1014’’;
(B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking
‘‘1012’’ and inserting ‘‘1012 or 1013’’;
(C) in subsection (b)(2), by striking
‘‘1013’’ and inserting ‘‘1014’’; and
(D) in subsection (e)(2)—
(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of
subparagraph (A);
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph
(B) as subparagraph (C);
(iii) by striking ‘‘1013’’ in subpara-
graph (C) (as so redesignated) and insert-
ing ‘‘1014’’; and
(iv) by inserting after subparagraph
(A) the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(B) he has transmitted a special message
under section 1013 with respect to a proposed
rescission; and’’.
(3) Section 1016 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 686)
(as redesignated by section 2(a)) is amended by
striking ‘‘1012 or 1013’’ each place it appears and
inserting ‘‘1012, 1013, or 1014’’.
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections
for subpart B of title X of such Act is amended—
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 1013 through 1017 as items relating to sec-
tions 1014 through 1018; and
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 1012 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 1013. Expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions.’’.
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