I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 222
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
to require expeditious consideration by the Congress of a proposal by
the President to rescind all or part of any item of budget authority
if the proposal is transmitted to the Congress on the same day
on which the President approves the bill or joint resolution providing
such budget authority.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 5, 1993
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Rules
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974 to require expeditious consideration
by the Congress of a proposal by the President to rescind
all or part of any item of budget authority if the pro-
posal is transmitted to the Congress on the same
day on which the President approves the bill or joint
resolution providing such budget authority.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Line-Item Rescission
Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PRO-
POSED RESCISSIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part B of title X of the Congres-
sional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is
amended by redesignating sections 1013 through 1017 as
sections 1014 through 1018, respectively, and inserting
after section 1012 the following new section:
‘‘EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PROPOSED
RESCISSIONS
‘‘SEC. 1013. (a) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MES-
SAGE.—The President may, on the same calendar day the
President approves any appropriation bill, transmit to
both Houses of the Congress, for consideration in accord-
ance with this section, one or more special messages pro-
posing to rescind all or part of any item of budget author-
ity provided in the appropriation bill.
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.—
‘‘(1) No special message may be considered in
accordance with this section if the special message
proposes to rescind more than one item of budget
authority.
‘‘(2) Each special message transmitted under
subsection (a) shall specify, with respect to the item
of budget authority (or part thereof) proposed by the
message to be rescinded, the matters referred to in
paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 1012(a).
‘‘(3) Each special message transmitted under
subsection (a) shall be accompanied by a draft bill
or joint resolution that would, if enacted, rescind the
budget authority proposed to be rescinded.
‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(1)(A) On the day on which a special message
proposing to rescind an item of budget authority is
transmitted to the House of Representatives and the
Senate under subsection (a), the draft bill or joint
resolution accompanying such special message shall
be introduced (by request) by the majority leader of
the House of the Congress in which the appropria-
tion Act providing the budget authority originated.
If such House is not in session on the day on which
a special message is transmitted, the draft bill or
joint resolution shall be introduced in such House,
as provided in the preceding sentence, on the first
day thereafter on which such House is in session.
‘‘(B) A draft bill or joint resolution introduced
in the House of Representatives or the Senate pur-
suant to subparagraph (A) shall be referred to the
Committee on Appropriations of such House. The
committee shall report the bill or joint resolution
without substantive revision (and with or without
recommendation) not later than 20 calendar days of
continuous session of the Congress after the date on
which the bill or joint resolution is introduced. A
committee failing to report a bill or joint resolution
within the 20-day period referred to in the preceding
sentence shall be automatically discharged from con-
sideration of the bill or joint resolution, and the bill
or joint resolution shall be placed on the appropriate
calendar.
‘‘(C) A vote on final passage of a bill or joint
resolution introduced in a House of the Congress
pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be taken on or
before the close of the 30th calendar day of continu-
ous session of the Congress after the date of the in-
troduction of the bill or joint resolution in such
House. If the bill or joint resolution is agreed to, the
Clerk of the House of Representatives (in the case
of a bill or joint resolution agreed to in the House
of Representatives) or the Secretary of the Senate
(in the case of a bill or joint resolution agreed to in
the Senate) shall cause the bill or joint resolution to
be engrossed, certified, and transmitted to the other
House of the Congress on the same calendar day on
which the bill or joint resolution is agreed to.
‘‘(2)(A) A bill or joint resolution transmitted to
the House of Representatives or the Senate pursu-
ant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) shall be
referred to the Committee on Appropriations of such
House. The committee shall report the bill or joint
resolution without substantive revision (and with or
without recommendation) not later than 20 calendar
days of continuous session of the Congress after the
bill or joint resolution is transmitted to such House.
A committee failing to report the bill or joint resolu-
tion within the 20-day period referred to in the pre-
ceding sentence shall be automatically discharged
from consideration of the bill or joint resolution, and
the bill or joint resolution shall be placed upon the
appropriate calendar.
‘‘(B) A vote on final passage of a bill or joint
resolution transmitted to a House of the Congress
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) shall
be taken on or before the close of the 30th calendar
day of continuous session of the Congress after the
date on which the bill or joint resolution is transmit-
ted to such House. If the bill or joint resolution is
agreed to in such House, the Clerk of the House of
Representatives (in the case of a bill or joint resolu-
tion agreed to in the House of Representatives) or
the Secretary of the Senate (in the case of a bill or
joint resolution agreed to in the Senate) shall cause
the engrossed bill or joint resolution to be returned
to the House in which the bill or joint resolution
originated, together with a statement of the action
taken by the House acting under this paragraph.
‘‘(3)(A) A motion in the House of Representa-
tives to proceed to the consideration of a bill or joint
resolution under this section shall be highly privi-
leged and not debatable. An amendment to the mo-
tion 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 House of Representatives
on a bill or joint resolution under this section shall
be limited to not more than 10 hours, which shall
be divided equally between those favoring and those
opposing the bill or joint resolution. A motion fur-
ther to limit debate shall not be debatable. It shall
not be in order to move to recommit a bill or joint
resolution under this section or to move to recon-
sider the vote by which the bill or joint resolution is
agreed to or disagreed to.
‘‘(C) Motions to postpone, made in the House
of Representatives with respect to the consideration
of a bill or joint resolution under this section, and
motions to proceed to the consideration of other
business, shall be decided without debate.
‘‘(D) All appeals from the decisions of the
Chair relating to the application of the Rules of the
House of Representatives to the procedure relating
to a bill or joint resolution under this section shall
be decided without debate.
‘‘(E) Except to the extent specifically provided
in the preceding provisions of this subsection, con-
sideration of a bill or joint resolution under this sec-
tion shall be governed by the Rules of the House of
Representatives applicable to other bills and joint
resolutions in similar circumstances.
‘‘(4)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to
the consideration of a bill or joint resolution 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 or joint res-
olution under this section, and all debatable motions
and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited
to not more than 10 hours. The time shall be equally
divided between, and controlled by, the majority
leader and the minority leader or their designees.