I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1321
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
APRIL 15, 1997
Mr. SKAGGS (for himself, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. SPRATT, and Mr. STENHOLM)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Budget, and in addition to the Committee 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 con-
cerned
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 1997’’.
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 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 appropriation 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 3 calendar days after the
date of enactment of an appropriation Act, the
President may transmit to Congress a special mes-
sage proposing to rescind amounts of budget author-
ity provided in that Act and include with that special
message a draft bill that, if enacted, would only re-
scind that budget authority. 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posed to be rescinded for each program, project, or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.
‘‘(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 of the House of Representa-
tives. 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 the
Committee on Appropriations fails to report the bill
within that period, that committee shall be auto-
matically discharged from consideration of the bill,
and the bill shall be placed on the appropriate cal-
endar.
‘‘(C) A vote on final passage of the bill referred
to in subparagraph (B) 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 engrossed, 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.
‘‘(3)(A) A bill transmitted to the Senate pursu-
ant to paragraph (1)(C) shall be referred to its Com-
mittee on Appropriations. The committee shall re-
port 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) A vote on final passage of a bill transmit-
ted to the Senate shall be taken on or before the
close of the 10th legislative day of the Senate after
the date on which the bill is transmitted.
‘‘(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 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 on any debatable
motion 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 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 earlier of—
‘‘(1) the day after the date upon which the
House of Representatives defeats the bill transmit-
ted with that special message rescinding the amount
proposed to be rescinded; or
‘‘(2) the day after the date upon which the Sen-
ate rejects a bill that makes rescissions to carry out
the applicable special message of the President.
‘‘(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 calendar 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.’’.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1013 of the Congressional
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (as added
by section 2) shall apply to amounts of budget authority
provided by appropriation Acts (as defined in subsection
(f) of such section) that are enacted during the One Hun-
dred Fifth Congress and thereafter.
(b) SPECIAL TRANSITION RULE.—Within 3 calendar
days after the beginning of a Congress, the President may
retransmit a special message, in the manner provided in
section 1013(b) of the Congressional Budget and Im-
poundment Control Act of 1974 (as added by section 2),
proposing to rescind only those amounts of budget author-
ity that were contained in any special message to the im-
mediately preceding Congress which that Congress failed
to consider because of its sine die adjournment before the
close of the time period set forth in such section 1013
for consideration of those proposed rescissions. A draft bill
shall accompany that special message that, if enacted,
would only rescind that budget authority. Before the close
of the second legislative day of the House of Representa-
tives after the date of receipt of that special message, the
majority leader or minority leader of the House of Rep-
resentatives shall introduce (by request) the draft bill ac-
companying 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 Representatives after
the date of receipt of that special message, any Member
of that House may introduce the bill. The House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate shall proceed to consider that
bill in the manner provided in such section 1013.
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