I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3442
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
NOVEMBER 17, 1999
Mr. STENHOLM (for himself, Mr. MINGE, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. PETERSON of
Minnesota, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BOYD,
and Mr. TANNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committees on Rules,
and Ways and Means, 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 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 ‘‘Expedited Rescissions
Act of 1999’’.
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 (2
U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by redesignating sections
1013 through 1017 as sections 1014 through 1018, re-
spectively, and by inserting after section 1012 the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PROPOSED
RESCISSIONS
‘‘SEC. 1013. (a) PROPOSED RESCISSION OF BUDGET
AUTHORITY OR REPEAL OF TARGETED TAX BENEFITS.—
The President may propose, at the time and in the manner
provided in subsection (b), the rescission of any budget
authority provided in an appropriation Act or repeal of
any targeted tax benefit provided in any revenue Act. If
the President proposes a rescission of budget authority,
he may also propose to reduce the appropriate discre-
tionary spending limit set forth in section 251(c) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985 by an amount that does not exceed the amount of
the proposed rescission. Funds made available for obliga-
tion under this procedure may not be proposed for rescis-
sion again under this section.
‘‘(b) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.—
‘‘(1) The President may transmit to Congress a
special message proposing to rescind amounts of
budget authority or to repeal any targeted tax ben-
efit and include with that special message a draft
bill that, if enacted, would only rescind that budget
authority or repeal that targeted tax benefit unless
the President also proposes a reduction in the appro-
priate discretionary spending limit set forth in sec-
tion 251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985. That bill shall clearly
identify the amount of budget authority that is pro-
posed to be rescinded for each program, project, or
activity to which that budget authority relates. A
targeted tax benefit may only be proposed to be re-
pealed under this section during the 10-legislative-
day period commencing on the day after the date of
enactment of the provision proposed to be repealed.
‘‘(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 each sub-
committee.
‘‘(3) Each special message shall specify, with
respect to the budget authority proposed to be re-
scinded, the following:
‘‘(A) The amount of budget authority
which he proposes to be rescinded.
‘‘(B) Any account, department, or estab-
lishment of the Government to which such
budget authority is available for obligation, and
the specific project or governmental functions
involved.
‘‘(C) The reasons why the budget authority
should be rescinded.
‘‘(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 re-
scission.
‘‘(E) All facts, circumstances, and consid-
erations relating to or bearing upon the pro-
posed rescission and the decision to effect the
proposed rescission, and to the maximum extent
practicable, the estimated effect of the proposed
rescission upon the objects, purposes, and pro-
grams for which the budget authority is pro-
vided.
‘‘(F) A reduction in the appropriate discre-
tionary spending limit set forth in section
251(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985, if proposed by the
President.
‘‘(4) Each special message shall specify, with
respect to the limited tax benefits proposed to be re-
scinded, the following:
‘‘(A) The limited tax benefit proposed to
be rescinded.
‘‘(B) The reasons for the rescission.
‘‘(C) To the maximum extent practicable,
the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary
effect of the rescission.
‘‘(D) All facts, circumstances, and consid-
erations relating to or bearing upon the rescis-
sion, and to the maximum extent practicable,
the estimated effect of the rescission upon the
objects and purposes for which the rescinded
benefit was provided.
‘‘(c) IDENTIFICATION
OF TARGETED TAX BENE-
FITS.—
‘‘(1) STATEMENT BY JOINT TAX COMMITTEE.—
The Joint Committee on Taxation shall review any
bill or joint resolution that includes any amendment
to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is being
prepared for filing by a committee of conference of
the two Houses, and shall identify whether such bill
or resolution contains any targeted tax benefits. The
Joint Committee on Taxation shall provide to the
committee of conference a statement identifying any
such targeted tax benefits or declaring that the bill
or resolution does not contain any targeted tax bene-
fits. Any such statement shall be made available to
any Member of Congress by the Joint Committee on
Taxation immediately upon request.
‘‘(2) STATEMENT
INCLUDED
IN
LEGISLA-
TION.—(A) Notwithstanding any other rule of the
House of Representatives or any rule or precedent of
the Senate, any bill or joint resolution that includes
any amendment to the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 reported by a committee of conference of the
two Houses may include, as a separate section of
such bill or joint resolution, the information con-
tained in the statement of the Joint Committee on
Taxation, but only in the manner set forth in sub-
paragraph (B).
‘‘(B) The separate section permitted under sub-
paragraph (A) shall read as follows: ‘Section
1013(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impound-
ment Control Act of 1974 shall llll apply to
llllll.’, with the blank spaces being filled in
with—
‘‘(i) in any case in which the Joint Com-
mittee on Taxation identifies targeted tax bene-
fits in the statement required under paragraph
(1), the word ‘only’ in the first blank space and
a list of all of the specific provisions of the bill
or joint resolution identified by the Joint Com-
mittee on Taxation in such statement in the
second blank space; or
‘‘(ii) in any case in which the Joint Com-
mittee on Taxation declares that there are no
targeted tax benefits in the statement required
under paragraph (1), the word ‘not’ in the first
blank space and the phrase ‘any provision of
this Act’ in the second blank space.
‘‘(3) PRESIDENT’S AUTHORITY.—If any revenue
bill or joint resolution is signed into law pursuant to
Article I, section 7, of the Constitution of the United
States—
‘‘(A) with a separate section described in
paragraph (2)(B), then the President may use
the authority granted in section 1013(a) only to
propose to rescind any targeted tax benefit in
that law, if any, identified in such separate sec-
tion; or
‘‘(B) without a separate section described
in paragraph (2)(B), then the President may
use the authority granted in section 1013(a) to
propose to rescind any targeted tax benefit in
that law that meets the definition in subsection
(g)(4).
‘‘(4) CONGRESSIONAL
IDENTIFICATIONS
OF
TARGETED TAX BENEFITS.—There shall be no judi-
cial review of the congressional identification under
paragraphs (1) and (2) of a targeted tax benefit in
a conference report.
‘‘(d) 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 Com-
mittee on Appropriations or the Committee on Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives, as ap-
plicable. The committee shall report the bill without
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 that
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) During consideration under this para-
graph, any Member of the House of Representatives
may move to strike any proposed rescission or re-
scissions of budget authority or any proposed repeal
of a targeted tax benefit, as applicable, if supported
by 49 other Members.
‘‘(D) A vote on final passage of the bill shall be
taken in the House of Representatives on or before
the close of the 10th 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 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 sec-
tion 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, con-
sideration of a bill under this section shall be gov-
erned by the Rules of the House of Representatives.
It shall not be in order in the House of Representa-
tives to consider any rescission bill introduced pursu-
ant to the provisions of this section under a suspen-
sion of the rules or under a special rule.
‘‘(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-
nance, as applicable. That 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 Sen-
ate after it receives the bill. A committee failing to
report the bill within such period shall be automati-
cally discharged from consideration of the bill, and
the bill shall be placed upon the appropriate cal-
endar.
‘‘(B) During consideration under this para-
graph, any Member of the Senate may move to
strike any proposed rescission or rescissions of budg-
et authority or any proposed repeal of a targeted tax
benefit, as applicable, if supported by 14 other Mem-
bers.
‘‘(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 (including debate pursuant to
subparagraph (C)), shall not exceed 10 hours. The
time shall be equally divided between, and controlled
by, the majority leader and the minority leader or
their designees.
‘‘(C) Debate in the Senate or any debatable mo-
tion or appeal in connection with a bill under this
section shall be limited to not more than 1 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 of the passage of a bill,
allot additional time to any Senator during the con-
sideration of any debatable motion or appeal.
message transmitted by the President shall not be
deemed repealed unless the bill transmitted with
that special message is enacted into law.
‘‘(g) 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 ‘legislative day’ means, with re-
spect to either House of Congress, any day of ses-
sion.
‘‘(3) The term ‘rescind’ means, with respect to
a targeted tax benefit, to prevent the specific provi-
sion of law that provides such benefit from having
legal force or effect, and, with respect to an appro-
priation Act, to reduce the amount of budget author-
ity appropriated in that Act, and reducing budget
authority shall include reducing obligation limita-
tions set forth in that Act.
‘‘(4)(A) 
The 
term 
‘targeted 
tax 
benefit’
means—
‘‘(i) any revenue-losing provision which
provides a Federal tax deduction, credit, exclu-
sion, or preference to 100 or fewer beneficiaries
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in
any fiscal year for which the provision is in ef-
fect; or
‘‘(ii) any Federal tax provision which pro-
vides 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 de-
scribed in subparagraph (A)(i) if the effect of that
provision is that—
‘‘(i) all persons in the same industry or en-
gaged 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 invest-
ment, receive the same treatment; or
‘‘‘(iii) any difference in the treatment of
persons is based solely on—
‘‘(I) in the case of businesses and as-
sociations, the size or form of the business
or association involved;
‘‘(II) in the case of individuals, gen-
eral demographic conditions, such as in-
come, marital status, number of depend-
ents, 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 de-
scribed 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 pre-
viously enacted legislation that is estimated to
have no revenue effect.
‘‘(D) For purposes of subparagraph (A)—
‘‘(i) all businesses and associations which
are related within the meaning of sections
707(b) and 1563(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 shall be treated as a single bene-
ficiary;
‘‘(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, associa-
tion, trust, or estate is the beneficiary of a pro-
vision, 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 purposes of this paragraph, the term
‘revenue-losing provision’ means any provision which
results in a reduction in Federal tax revenues for
any one of the two following periods—
‘‘(i) the first fiscal year for which the pro-
vision is effective; or
‘‘(ii) the period of the 5 fiscal years begin-
ning with the first fiscal year for which the pro-
vision is effective.
‘‘(F) The terms used in this paragraph shall
have the same meaning as those terms have gen-
erally in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, unless
otherwise expressly provided.
‘‘(5) The term ‘beneficiary’ means any taxpayer
or any corporation, partnership, institution, organi-
zation, item of property, State, or civil subdivision
within one or more States. Any partnership, limited
partnership, trust, or S corporation, and any sub-
sidiary or affiliate of the same parent corporation,
shall be deemed and counted as a single beneficiary
regardless of the number of partners, limited part-
ners, beneficiaries, shareholders, or affiliated cor-
porate entities.’’.
(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 ‘‘1012, and 1017’’; and
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section
1017’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 1012 and 1017’’.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 1011 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 682(5)) is amended by re-
pealing paragraphs (3) and (5) and by redesignating
paragraph (4) as paragraph (3).
(2) Section 1014 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 685) is
amended—
(A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘or
the reservation’’; and
(B) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘or a
reservation’’ and by striking ‘‘or each such res-
ervation’’.
(3) Section 1015(a) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 686)
is amended by striking ‘‘is to establish a reserve or’’,
by striking ‘‘the establishment of such a reserve or’’,
and by striking ‘‘reserve or’’ each other place it ap-
pears.
(4) Section 1017 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 687) is
amended—
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘rescis-
sion bill introduced with respect to a special
message or’’;
(B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘re-
scission bill or’’, by striking ‘‘bill or’’ the second
place it appears, by striking ‘‘rescission bill with
respect to the same special message or’’, and by
striking ‘‘, and the case may be,’’;
(C) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘bill
or’’ each place it appears;
(D) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘rescis-
sion’’ each place it appears and by striking ‘‘bill
or’’ each place it appears;
(E) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘re-
scission bill or’’ and by striking ‘‘, and all
amendments thereto (in the case of a rescission
bill)’’;
(F) in subsection (d)(2)—
(i) by striking the first sentence;
(ii) by amending the second sentence
to read as follows: ‘‘Debate on any debat-
able motion or appeal in connection with
an impoundment resolution shall be limited
to 1 hour, to be equally divided between,
and controlled by, the mover and the man-
ager of the resolution, except that in the
event that the manager of the resolution is
in favor of any such motion or appeal, the
time in opposition thereto shall be con-
trolled by the minority leader or his des-
ignee.’’;
(iii) by striking the third sentence;
and
(iv) in the fourth sentence, by striking
‘‘rescission 
bill 
or’’ 
and 
by 
striking
‘‘amendment, debatable motion,’’ and by
inserting ‘debatable motion’;
(G) in paragraph (d)(3), by striking the
second and third sentences; and
(H) by striking paragraphs (4), (5), (6),
and (7) of paragraph (d).
(d) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—Section 1017 of such
Act (2 U.S.C. 687) (as redesignated) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘or a limited tax benefit is re-
quired to be implemented and is not implemented,’’
before ‘‘the Comptroller General is hereby expressly
empowered’’;
(2) by inserting ‘‘or such limited tax benefit to
be implemented’’ before ‘‘, and such court is hereby
expressly empowered’’; and
(3) by inserting ‘‘or to implement such limited
tax benefit’’ after ‘‘to make such budget authority
available for obligation’’.
(e) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The item relating to
section 1012 in the table of sections for subpart B of title
X of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control
Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows:
‘‘Sec. 1012. Expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions and targeted
tax benefits.’’.
SEC. 3. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
(a) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—
(1) Any Member of Congress may bring an ac-
tion, in the United States District Court for the Dis-
trict of Columbia, for declaratory judgment and in-
junctive relief on the ground that any provision of
this title violates the Constitution.
(2) A copy of any complaint in an action
brought under paragraph (1) shall be promptly de-
livered to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk
of the House of Representatives, and each House of
Congress shall have the right to intervene in such
action.
(3) Any action brought under paragraph (1)
shall be heard and determined by a three-judge
court in accordance with section 2284 of title 28,
United States Code. Nothing in this section or in
any other law shall infringe upon the right of the
House of Representatives to intervene in an action
brought under paragraph (1) without the necessity
of adopting a resolution to authorize such interven-
tion.
(b) APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, any order of the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia which is issued
pursuant to an action brought under paragraph (1) of sub-
section (a) shall be reviewable by appeal directly to the
Supreme Court of the United States. Any such appeal
shall be taken by a notice of appeal filed within 10 days
after such order is entered; and the jurisdictional state-
ment shall be filed within 30 days after such order is en-
tered. No stay of an order issued pursuant to an action
brought under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be
issued by a single Justice of the Supreme Court.
(c) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—It shall be the
duty of the District Court for the District of Columbia
and the Supreme Court of the United States to advance
on the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible ex-
tent the disposition of any matter brought under sub-
section (a).
Æ