I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 678
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed cancella-
tions of budget items.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 25, 1995
Mr. PORTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Commit-
tee on Government Reform and Oversight and, in addition, to the Com-
mittee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974 to provide for the expedited consider-
ation of certain proposed cancellations of budget items.
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 ‘‘Legislative Line Item
Veto Act’’.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PRO-
POSED RESCISSIONS AND REPEALS OF TAX
EXPENDITURES AND DIRECT SPENDING.
(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 adding after section 1012 the
following new section:
‘‘EXPEDITED
CONSIDERATION
OF
CERTAIN
PROPOSED
RESCISSIONS AND REPEALS OF TAX EXPENDITURES
AND DIRECT SPENDING
‘‘SEC. 1012A. (a) PROPOSED CANCELLATION
OF
BUDGET ITEM.—The President may propose, at the time
and in the manner provided in subsection (b), the cancella-
tion of any budget item provided in any Act.
‘‘(b) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.—
‘‘(1)(A) Subject to the time limitations provided
in subparagraph (B), the President may transmit to
Congress a special message proposing to cancel
budget items and include with that special message
a draft bill that, if enacted, would only cancel those
budget items as provided in this section. The bill
shall clearly identify each budget item that is pro-
posed to be canceled including, where applicable,
each program, project, or activity to which the budg-
et item relates. The bill shall specify the amount, if
any, of each budget item that the President des-
ignates for deficit reduction as provided in para-
graph (4).
‘‘(B) A special message may be transmitted
under this section—
‘‘(i) during the 20-calendar-day period (ex-
cluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays)
commencing on the day after the date of enact-
ment of the provision proposed to be rescinded
or repealed; or
‘‘(ii) at the same time as the President’s
budget.
‘‘(2) In the case of an Act that includes budget
items within the jurisdiction of more than one com-
mittee of a House, the President in proposing to
cancel such budget item under this section shall
send a separate special message and accompanying
draft bill for each such committee.
‘‘(3) Each special message shall specify, with
respect to the budget item proposed to be canceled—
‘‘(A) the amount that the President pro-
poses be canceled;
‘‘(B) any account, department, or estab-
lishment of the Government to which such
budget item is available for obligation, and the
specific project or governmental functions in-
volved;
‘‘(C) the reasons why the budget item
should be canceled;
‘‘(D) to the maximum extent practicable,
the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary
effect (including the effect on outlays and re-
ceipts in each fiscal year) of the proposed can-
cellation; and
‘‘(E) all facts, circumstances, and consider-
ations relating to or bearing upon the proposed
cancellation and the decision to effect the pro-
posed cancellation, and to the maximum extent
practicable, the estimated effect of the proposed
cancellation upon the objects, purposes, and
programs for which the budget item is provided.
‘‘(4)(A) Not later than 5 days after the date of
enactment of a bill containing an amount designated
by the President for deficit reduction under para-
graph (1), the President shall—
‘‘(i) with respect to a rescission bill, reduce
the discretionary spending limits under section
601 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
for the budget year and each outyear to reflect
such amount; and
‘‘(ii) with respect to a repeal of a tax ex-
penditure or direct spending, adjust the bal-
ances for the budget year and each outyear
under section 252(b) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to
reflect such amount.
‘‘(B) Not later than 5 days after the date of en-
actment of a bill containing an amount designated
by the President for deficit reduction under para-
graph (1), the chairs of the Committees on the
Budget of the Senate and the House of Representa-
tives shall revise levels under section 311(a) and ad-
just the committee allocations under section 602(a)
to reflect such amount.
‘‘(c) PROCEDURES
FOR
EXPEDITED
CONSIDER-
ATION.—
‘‘(1)(A) Before the close of the second day of
session of the Senate and the House of Representa-
tives, respectively, after the date of receipt of a spe-
cial message transmitted to Congress under sub-
section (b), the majority leader or minority leader of
each House shall introduce (by request) the draft
bill accompanying that special message. 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) The bill shall be referred to the appro-
priate committee or (in the House of Representa-
tives) committees. The committee shall report the
bill without substantive revision and with or without
recommendation. The committee shall report the bill
not later than the seventh day of session of that
House after the date of receipt of that special mes-
sage. 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) A vote on final passage of the bill shall be
taken in the Senate and the House of Representa-
tives on or before the close of the 10th day of ses-
sion of that House after the date of the introduction
of the bill in that House. If the bill is passed, the
Clerk of the Senate or the House of Representatives,
as the case may be, shall cause the bill to be en-
grossed, certified, and transmitted to the other
House within one calendar day of the day on which
the bill is passed.
‘‘(2)(A) During consideration under this sub-
section in the House of Representatives, any Mem-
ber of the House of Representatives may move to
strike any proposed cancellation of a budget item if
supported by 49 other Members.
‘‘(B) A motion in the House of Representatives
to proceed to the consideration of a bill under this
subsection 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.
‘‘(C) 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 sub-
section or to move to reconsider the vote by which
the bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
‘‘(D) 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.
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.
‘‘(E) A motion in the Senate to further limit
debate on a bill under this subsection is not debat-
able. A motion to recommit a bill under this sub-
section is not in order.
‘‘(F) If the Senate proceeds to consider a bill
introduced in the House of Representatives under
paragraph (1)(A), then any Senator may offer as an
amendment the text of the companion bill introduced
in the Senate under paragraph (1)(A) as amended
if amended (under subparagraph (A)). Debate in the
Senate on such bill introduced in the House of Rep-
resentatives, and all debatable motions and appeals
in connection therewith (including debate pursuant
to subparagraph (D)), and any amendment offered
under this subparagraph, shall not exceed 10 hours
minus such times (if any) as Senators consumed or
yielded back during consideration of the companion
bill introduced in the Senate under paragraph
(1)(A).
‘‘(4) Debate in the House of Representatives or
the Senate on the conference report on any bill con-
sidered under this section shall be limited to not
more than 2 hours, which shall be divided equally
between the majority leader and the minority leader.
A motion further to limit debate is not debatable. A
motion to recommit the conference report is not in
order, and it is not in order to move to reconsider
the vote by which the conference report is agreed to
or disagreed to.
‘‘(d) AMENDMENTS AND DIVISIONS PROHIBITED.—
Except as otherwise provided by this section, no amend-
ment to a bill considered under this section shall be in
order in either the Senate or the House of Representa-
tives. It shall not be in order to demand a division of the
question in the House of Representatives (or in a Commit-
tee of the Whole). No motion to suspend the application
of this subsection shall be in order in the House of Rep-
resentatives, nor shall it be in order in the House of Rep-
resentatives to suspend the application of this subsection
by unanimous consent.
‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR OBLI-
GATION.—Any budget item proposed to be canceled in a
special message transmitted to Congress under subsection
(b) shall not be made available for obligation or take effect
until 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;
‘‘(2) the term ‘direct spending’ shall have the
same meaning given such term in section 250(c)(8)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Con-
trol Act of 1985;
‘‘(3) the term ‘budget item’ means—
‘‘(A) an amount, in whole or in part, of
budget authority provided in an appropriation
Act;
‘‘(B) an amount of direct spending; or
‘‘(C) a targeted tax benefit;
‘‘(4) the term ‘cancellation of a budget item’
means—
‘‘(A) the rescission of any budget authority
provided in an appropriation Act;
‘‘(B) the repeal of any amount of direct
spending; or
‘‘(C) the repeal of any targeted tax benefit;
and
‘‘(5) the term ‘targeted tax benefit’ means any
provision which has the practical effect of providing
a benefit in the form of a different treatment to a
particular taxpayer or a limited class of taxpayers,
whether or not such provision is limited by its terms
to a particular taxpayer or a class of taxpayers.
Such term does not include any benefit provided to
a class of taxpayers distinguished on the basis of
general demographic conditions such as income,
number of dependents, or marital status.’’.
(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 ‘‘1012A, and 1017’’; and
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section
1017’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 1012A and 1017’’.
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections
for subpart B of title X of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by insert-
ing after the item relating to section 1012 the following:
‘‘Sec. 1012A. Expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions and re-
peals of tax expenditures and direct spending.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—The amendments made by
this Act shall—
(1) take effect on the date of enactment of this
Act;
(2) apply only to budget items provided in Acts
enacted on or after the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(3) cease to be effective on September 30,
1998.
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