(1) The term ‘‘rescission/receipts disapproval
bill’’ means a bill or joint resolution øwhich—
ø(A) only disapproves a rescission of dis-
cretionary budget authority, in whole, re-
scinded, or
ø(B) only disapproves a veto of any tar-
geted tax benefit,
in a special message transmitted by the President
under this Act.¿ which only disapproves, in
whole, rescissions of discretionary budg-
et authority or only disapproves vetoes of
targeted tax benefits in a special message
transmitted by the President under this
Act and—
(A) which does not have a pre-
amble;
(B)(i) in the case of a special mes-
sage regarding rescissions, the matter
after the enacting clause of which is
as 
follows: 
‘‘That 
Congress 
dis-
approves each rescission of discre-
tionary budget authority of the Presi-
dent as submitted by the President in
a special message on llll’’, the
blank space being filled in with the
appropriate date and the public law
to which the message relates; and
(ii) in the case of a special mes-
sage regarding vetoes of targeted tax
benefits, the matter after the enact-
ing clause of which is as follows:
‘‘That Congress disapproves each veto
of targeted tax benefits of the Presi-
dent as submitted by the President in
a special message on llll’’, the
blank space being filled in with the
appropriate date and the public law
to which the message relates; and
(C) the title of which is as follows:
‘‘A bill disapproving the recommenda-
tions submitted by the President on
llll’’, the blank space being filled
in with the date of submission of the
relevant special message and the pub-
lic law to which the message relates.
(2) The term ‘‘calendar days of session’’ shall
mean only those days on which both Houses of Con-
gress are in session.
(3) The term ‘‘targeted tax benefit’’ means any
provision of a revenue Act which the President de-
termines would provide a Federal tax benefit to 5 or
fewer taxpayers.
(3) The term ‘‘targeted tax benefit’’ means any
provision of a revenue or reconciliation Act deter-
mined by the President to provide a Federal tax de-
duction, credit, exclusion, preference, or other conces-
sion to 100 or fewer beneficiaries. Any partnership,
limited partnership, trust, or S corporation, and any
subsidiary or affiliate of the same parent corporation,
shall be deemed and counted as a single beneficiary
regardless of the number of partners, limited partners,
beneficiaries, shareholders, or affiliated corporate en-
tities.
(4) The term ‘‘appropriation Act’’ means any
general or special appropriation Act, and any Act or
joint resolution making supplemental, deficiency, or
continuing appropriations.
SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF LINE ITEM
VETOES.
(a) PRESIDENTIAL SPECIAL MESSAGE.—Whenever
the President rescinds any budget authority as provided
in this Act or vetoes any provision of law as provided in
this Act, the President shall transmit to both Houses of
Congress a special message specifying—
(1) the amount of budget authority rescinded or
the provision vetoed;
(2) any account, department, or establishment
of the Government to which such budget authority
is available for obligation, and the specific project or
governmental functions involved;
(3) the reasons and justifications for the deter-
mination to rescind budget authority or veto any
provision pursuant to this Act;
(4) to the maximum extent practicable, the esti-
mated fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the
rescission or veto; and
(5) all actions, circumstances, and consider-
ations relating to or bearing upon the rescission or
veto and the decision to effect the rescission or veto,
and to the maximum extent practicable, the esti-
mated effect of the rescission upon the objects, pur-
poses, and programs for which the budget authority
is provided.
(b) TRANSMISSION OF MESSAGES TO HOUSE AND
SENATE.—
(1) Each special message transmitted under
this Act shall be transmitted to the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Senate on the same day, and
shall be delivered to the Clerk of the House of Rep-
resentatives if the House is not in session, and to
the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not in
session. Each special message so transmitted shall
be referred to the appropriate committees of the
House of Representatives and the Senate. Each such
message shall be printed as a document of each
House.
(2) Any special message transmitted under this
Act shall be printed in the first issue of the Federal
Register published after such transmittal.
ø(c) REFERRAL
OF
RESCISSION/RECEIPTS
DIS-
APPROVAL BILLS.—Any rescission/receipts disapproval
bill introduced with respect to a special message shall be
referred to the appropriate committees of the House of
Representatives or the Senate, as the case may be.¿
(c) INTRODUCTION OF RESCISSION/RECEIPTS
DISAPPROVAL BILLS.—The procedures set forth
in subsection (d) shall apply to any rescission/
receipts disapproval bill introduced in the
House of Representatives not later than the
third calendar day of session beginning on
the day after the date of submission of a spe-
cial message by the President under section
3.
(d) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REP-
RESENTATIVES.—(1) The committee of the
House of Representatives to which a rescis-
sion/receipts disapproval bill is referred shall
report it without amendment, and with or
without recommendation, not later than the
eighth calendar day of session after the date
of its introduction. If the committee fails to
report the bill within that period, it is in
order to move that the House discharge the
committee from further consideration of the
bill. A motion to discharge may be made only
by an individual favoring the bill (but only
after the legislative day on which a Member
announces to the House the Member’s inten-
tion to do so). The motion is highly privileged.
Debate thereon shall be limited to not more
than one hour, the time to be divided in the
House equally between a proponent and an
opponent. The previous question shall be con-
sidered as ordered on the motion to its adop-
tion without intervening motion. A motion to
reconsider the vote by which the motion is
agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order.
(2) After a rescission/receipts disapproval
bill is reported or the committee has been dis-
charged from further consideration, it is in
order to move that the House resolve into the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of
the Union for consideration of the bill. All
points of order against the bill and against
consideration of the bill are waived. The mo-
tion is highly privileged. The previous ques-
tion shall be considered as ordered on that
motion through its adoption without inter-
vening motion. A motion to reconsider the
vote by which the motion is agreed to or dis-
agreed to shall not be in order. During consid-
eration of the bill in the Committee of the
Whole, the first reading of the bill shall be dis-
pensed with. General debate shall proceed
without intervening motion, shall be confined
to the bill, and shall not exceed two hours
equally divided and controlled by a pro-
ponent and an opponent of the bill. After gen-
eral debate the Committee shall rise and re-
port the bill to the House. The previous ques-
tion shall be considered as ordered on the bill
to final passage without intervening motion.
A motion to reconsider the vote on passage of
the bill shall not be in order.
(3) Appeals from the decisions of the
Chair relating to the application of the rules
of the House of Representatives to the proce-
dure relating to a bill described in subsection
(a) shall be decided without debate.
(4) It shall not be in order to consider
more than one bill described in subsection (c)
or more than one motion to discharge de-
scribed in paragraph (1) with respect to a par-
ticular special message.
(5) Consideration of any rescission/re-
ceipts disapproval bill under this subsection
is governed by the rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives except to the extent specifically
provided by the provisions of this Act.
ø(d)¿ (e) CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.—
(1) Any rescission/receipts disapproval bill re-
ceived in the Senate from the House shall be consid-
ered in the Senate pursuant to the provisions of this
Act.
(2) Debate in the Senate on any rescission/re-
ceipts disapproval bill and debatable motions and ap-
peals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not
more than ten hours. The time shall be equally di-
vided between, and controlled by, the majority leader
and the minority leader or their designees.
(3) Debate in the Senate on any debatable mo-
tions or appeal in connection with such bill shall be
limited to 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 thereto shall be controlled by the mi-
nority leader or his designee. Such leaders, or either
of them, may, from the time under their control on
the passage of the bill, allot additional time to any
Senator during the consideration of any debatable
motion or appeal.
(4) A motion to further limit debate is not de-
batable. A motion to recommit (except a motion to
recommit with instructions to report back within a
specified number of days not to exceed one, not
counting any day on which the Senate is not in ses-
sion) is not in order.
ø(e)¿ (f) POINTS OF ORDER.—
(1) It shall not be in order in the Senate øor
the House of Representatives¿ to consider any re-
scission/receipts disapproval bill that relates to any
matter other than the rescission of budget authority
or veto of the provision of law transmitted by the
President under this Act.
(2) It shall not be in order in the Senate øor
the House of Representatives¿ to consider any
amendment to a rescission/receipts disapproval bill.
(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) may be waived or
suspended in the Senate only by a vote of three-
fifths of the members duly chosen and sworn.
SEC. 6. REPORTS OF THE GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.
Beginning on January 6, 1996, and at one-year inter-
vals thereafter, the Comptroller General shall submit a re-
port to each House of Congress which provides the following
information:
(1) A list of each proposed Presidential rescission
of discretionary budget authority and veto of a tar-
geted tax benefit submitted through special messages
for the fiscal year ending during the preceding cal-
endar year, together with their dollar value, and an
indication of whether each rescission of discretionary
budget authority or veto of a targeted tax benefit was
accepted or rejected by Congress.
(2) The total number of proposed Presidential re-
scissions of discretionary budget authority and vetoes
of a targeted tax benefit submitted through special
messages for the fiscal year ending during the preced-
ing calendar year, together with their total dollar
value.
(3) The total number of Presidential rescissions
of discretionary budget authority or vetoes of a tar-
geted tax benefit submitted through special messages
for the fiscal year ending during the preceding cal-
endar year and approved by Congress, together with
their total dollar value.
(4) A list of rescissions of discretionary budget
authority initiated by Congress for the fiscal year
ending during the preceding calendar year, together
with their dollar value, and an indication of whether
each such rescission was accepted or rejected by Con-
gress.
(5) The total number of rescissions of discre-
tionary budget authority initiated and accepted by
Congress for the fiscal year ending during the preced-
ing calendar year, together with their total dollar
value.
(6) A summary of the information provided by
paragraphs (2), (3) and (5) for each of the ten fiscal
years ending before the fiscal year during this cal-
endar year.
Union Calendar No. 5
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2
[Report No. 104–11, Parts I and II]
A BILL
To give the President item veto authority over ap-
propriation Acts and targeted tax benefits in rev-
enue Acts.
JANUARY 30, 1995
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed