I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5442 
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 
to provide for a legislative line-item veto to expedite consideration of 
rescissions, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 9, 2018 
Mr. NORMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Con-
trol Act of 1974 to provide for a legislative line-item 
veto to expedite consideration of rescissions, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘A Fast-Tracked Executive 
Rescission Review (AFTERR) of Appropriations Act of 
2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED 
RESCISSIONS AND DEFERRALS OF BUDGET 
AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATION LIMITATIONS. 
Title X of the Congressional Budget and Impound-
ment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) is amend-
ed by striking all of part B (except for sections 1015, 
1016, and 1013, which are transferred and redesignated 
as sections 1017, 1018, and 1019, respectively) and part 
C and by inserting after part A the following: 
‘‘PART B—CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION
OF PRO-
POSED RESCISSIONS AND DEFERRALS OF BUDGET 
AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATION LIMITATIONS 
‘‘CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED RESCIS-
SIONS AND DEFERRALS OF BUDGET AUTHORITY AND 
OBLIGATION LIMITATIONS 
‘‘SEC. 1011. (a) PROPOSED RESCISSIONS.—Within 
10 days after the enactment of any bill or joint resolution 
providing any funding, the President may propose, in the 
manner provided in subsection (b), the rescission of all or 
part of any dollar amount of such funding. 
‘‘(b) SPECIAL MESSAGE.—If the President proposes 
that Congress rescind funding, the President shall trans-
mit a special message to Congress containing the informa-
tion specified in this subsection. 
‘‘(1) PACKAGING
OF
REQUESTED
RESCIS-
SIONS.—For each piece of legislation that provides 
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funding, the President shall request at most 2 pack-
ages of rescissions (but in the case of an omnibus 
appropriation measure 5 such packages) and the re-
scissions in each package shall apply only to funding 
contained in that legislation. The President shall not 
include the same rescission in both packages. 
‘‘(2) TRANSMITTAL.—The President shall de-
liver each message requesting a package of rescis-
sions to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is 
not in session and to the Clerk of the House of Rep-
resentatives if the House is not in session. The 
President shall make a copy of the transmittal mes-
sage publicly available, and shall publish in the Fed-
eral Register a notice of the message and informa-
tion on how it can be obtained. 
‘‘(3) CONTENTS
OF
SPECIAL
MESSAGE.—For 
each request to rescind funding under this part, the 
transmittal message shall— 
‘‘(A) specify— 
‘‘(i) the dollar amount to be re-
scinded; 
‘‘(ii) the agency, bureau, and account 
from which the rescission shall occur; 
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‘‘(iii) the program, project, or activity 
within the account (if applicable) from 
which the rescission shall occur; 
‘‘(iv) the amount of funding, if any, 
that would remain for the account, pro-
gram, project, or activity if the rescission 
request is enacted; and 
‘‘(v) the reasons the President re-
quests the rescission; and 
‘‘(B) designate each separate rescission re-
quest by number; and include proposed legisla-
tive text of an approval bill to accomplish the 
requested rescissions which may not include— 
‘‘(i) any changes in existing law, other 
than the rescission of funding; or 
‘‘(ii) any supplemental appropriations, 
transfers, or reprogrammings. 
‘‘GRANTS OF AND LIMITATIONS ON PRESIDENTIAL 
AUTHORITY 
‘‘SEC. 1012. (a) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO 
WITHHOLD FUNDING.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law and if the President proposes a rescission of 
funding under this part, the President may, subject to the 
time limits provided in subsection (c), temporarily with-
hold that funding from obligation. 
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‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING AVAILABLE ONLY ONCE PER 
PROPOSED RESCISSION.—Except as provided in section 
1019, the President may not invoke the authority to with-
hold funding granted by subsection (a) for any other pur-
pose. 
‘‘(c) TIME LIMITS.—The President shall make avail-
able for obligation any funding withheld under subsection 
(a) on the earliest of— 
‘‘(1) the day on which the President determines 
that the continued withholding or reduction no 
longer advances the purpose of legislative consider-
ation of the approval bill; 
‘‘(2) the 30th day following the date of enact-
ment of the appropriations measure to which the ap-
proval bill relates; or 
‘‘(3) the last day that the President determines 
the obligation of the funding in question can no 
longer be fully accomplished in a prudent manner 
before its expiration. 
‘‘(d) DEFICIT REDUCTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds that are rescinded 
under this part shall be dedicated only to reducing 
the deficit or increasing the surplus. 
‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF LEVELS IN THE CONCUR-
RENT
RESOLUTION
ON
THE
BUDGET.—Not later 
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‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE OF REP-
RESENTATIVES.— 
‘‘(A) REFERRAL
AND
REPORTING.—Any 
committee of the House of Representatives to 
which an approval bill is referred shall report it 
to the House without amendment not later than 
the third legislative day after the date of its in-
troduction. If a committee fails to report the 
bill within that period or the House has adopt-
ed a concurrent resolution providing for ad-
journment sine die at the end of a Congress, 
such committee shall be automatically dis-
charged from further consideration of the bill 
and it shall be placed on the appropriate cal-
endar. 
‘‘(B) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 
Not later than 3 legislative days after the ap-
proval bill is reported or a committee has been 
discharged from further consideration thereof, 
it shall be in order to move to proceed to con-
sider the approval bill in the House. Such a mo-
tion shall be in order only at a time designated 
by the Speaker in the legislative schedule within 
two legislative days after the day on which the 
proponent announces an intention to the House 
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to offer the motion provided that such notice 
may not be given until the approval bill is re-
ported or a committee has been discharged 
from further consideration thereof. Such a mo-
tion shall not be in order after the House has 
disposed of a motion to proceed with respect to 
that special message. The previous question 
shall be considered as ordered on the motion to 
its adoption without intervening motion. A mo-
tion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 
is disposed of shall not be in order. 
‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION.—If the motion to 
proceed is agreed to, the House shall imme-
diately proceed to consider the approval bill in 
the House without intervening motion. The ap-
proval bill shall be considered as read. All 
points of order against the approval bill and 
against its consideration are waived. The pre-
vious question shall be considered as ordered on 
the approval bill to its passage without inter-
vening motion except 2 hours of debate equally 
divided and controlled by the proponent and an 
opponent and one motion to limit debate on the 
bill. A motion to reconsider the vote on passage 
of the approval bill shall not be in order. 
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‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.— 
‘‘(A) COMMITTEE
ACTION.—The appro-
priate committee of the Senate shall report 
without amendment the approval bill as defined 
in section 1015(2) not later than the third ses-
sion day after introduction. If a committee fails 
to report the approval bill within that period or 
the Senate has adopted a concurrent resolution 
providing for adjournment sine die at the end 
of a Congress, the Committee shall be auto-
matically discharged from further consideration 
of the approval bill and it shall be placed on the 
appropriate calendar. 
‘‘(B) MOTION
TO
PROCEED.—Not later 
than 3 session days after the approval bill is re-
ported in the Senate or the committee has been 
discharged thereof, it shall be in order for any 
Senator to move to proceed to consider the ap-
proval bill in the Senate. The motion shall be 
decided without debate and the motion to re-
consider shall be deemed to have been laid on 
the table. Such a motion shall not be in order 
after the Senate has disposed of a prior motion 
to proceed with respect to the approval bill. 
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‘‘(C) CONSIDERATION.—If a motion to 
proceed to the consideration of the approval bill 
is agreed to, the Senate shall immediately pro-
ceed to consideration of the approval bill with-
out intervening motion, order, or other busi-
ness, and the approval bill shall remain the un-
finished business of the Senate until disposed 
of. Consideration on the bill in the Senate 
under this subsection, and all debatable motions 
and appeals in connection therewith, shall not 
exceed 10 hours equally divided in the usual 
form. All points of order against the approval 
bill or its consideration are waived. Consider-
ation in the Senate on any debatable motion or 
appeal in connection with the approval bill shall 
be limited to not more than 1 hour. A motion 
to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the con-
sideration of other business, or a motion to re-
commit the approval bill is not in order. A mo-
tion to reconsider the vote by which the ap-
proval bill is agreed to or disagreed to is not in 
order. 
‘‘(4) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No amend-
ment to, or motion to strike a provision from, an ap-
proval bill considered under this section shall be in 
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order in either the Senate or the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
‘‘(5) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER 
HOUSE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, before passing the 
approval bill, one House receives from the other 
a bill— 
‘‘(i) the approval bill of the other 
House shall not be referred to a com-
mittee; and 
‘‘(ii) the procedure in the receiving 
House shall be the same as if no approval 
bill had been received from the other 
House until the vote on passage, when the 
bill received from the other House shall 
supplant the approval bill of the receiving 
House. 
‘‘(B) This paragraph shall not apply to the 
House of Representatives. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) shall apply only to 
an approval bill, as such term is defined in section 
1015(2), introduced pursuant to subsection (a)(1). 
‘‘(c) EXTENDED TIME PERIOD.—If Congress ad-
journs at the end of a Congress prior to the expiration 
of the periods described in sections 1012(c)(2) and 1014 
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and an approval bill was then pending in either House 
of Congress or a committee thereof, or an approval bill 
had not yet been introduced with respect to a special mes-
sage, or before the applicable 10-day period specified in 
section 1011(a) has expired, then within the first 3 days 
of session, the President shall transmit to Congress an ad-
ditional special message containing all of the information 
in the previous, pending special message and an approval 
bill may be introduced within the first five days of session 
of the next Congress and shall be treated as an approval 
bill under this part, and the time periods described in sec-
tions 1012(c)(2) and 1014 shall commence on the day of 
introduction of that approval bill. 
‘‘(d) APPROVAL BILL PROCEDURE.—In order for an 
approval bill to be considered under the procedures set 
forth in this part, the bill must meet the definition of an 
approval bill and must be introduced no later than the 
third day of session following the beginning of the period 
described in section 1013(a)(1) or the fifth day in the case 
of subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) CBO ESTIMATE.—Upon receipt of a special 
message under section 1101 proposing to rescind all or 
part of any funding, CBO shall prepare and submit to the 
appropriate committees of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate an estimate of the reduction in budget au-
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thority which would result from the enactment of the pro-
posed rescissions. 
‘‘TREATMENT OF RESCISSIONS 
‘‘SEC. 1014. Rescissions proposed by the President 
under this part shall take effect only upon enactment of 
the applicable approval bill. If an approval bill is not en-
acted into law within 30 days from the enactment of the 
appropriation measure to which the approval bill relates, 
then the approval bill shall not be eligible for expedited 
consideration under the provisions of this part. 
‘‘DEFINITIONS 
‘‘SEC. 1015. As used in this part: 
‘‘(1) APPROPRIATION
MEASURE.—The term 
‘appropriation measure’ means an Act referred to in 
section 105 of title 1, United States Code, including 
any general or special appropriation Act, or any Act 
making supplemental, deficiency, or continuing ap-
propriations, that has been enacted into law pursu-
ant to article I, section 7, of the Constitution of the 
United States. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL BILL.—The term ‘approval bill’ 
means a bill which only approves rescissions of fund-
ing in a special message transmitted by the Presi-
dent under this part and— 
‘‘(A) the title of which is as follows: ‘A bill 
approving the proposed rescissions transmitted 
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by the President on lll’, the blank space 
being filled in with the date of transmission of 
the relevant special message and the public law 
number to which the message relates; and 
‘‘(B) which provides only the following 
after the enacting clause: ‘That the Congress 
approves the proposed rescissions lll’, the 
blank space being filled in with the list of the 
rescissions contained in the President’s special 
message, ‘as transmitted by the President in a 
special message on llll’, the blank space 
being filled in with the appropriate date, ‘re-
garding llll.’, the blank space being filled 
in with the public law number to which the spe-
cial message relates. 
‘‘(3) RESCIND OR RESCISSION.—The terms ‘re-
scind’ or ‘rescission’ mean to permanently cancel or 
prevent budget authority or outlays available under 
an obligation limit from having legal force or effect. 
‘‘(4) CONGRESSIONAL
BUDGET
OFFICE.—The 
term ‘CBO’ means the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office. 
‘‘(5) 
COMPTROLLER
GENERAL.—The 
term 
‘Comptroller General’ means the Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States. 
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‘‘(6) DEFERRAL OF BUDGET AUTHORITY.—The 
term ‘deferral of budget authority’ includes— 
‘‘(A) withholding or delaying the obliga-
tions or expenditure of budget authority 
(whether by establishing reserves or otherwise) 
provided for projects or activities; or 
‘‘(B) any other type of Executive action or 
inaction which effectively precludes the obliga-
tion or expenditure of budget authority, includ-
ing authority to obligate by contract in advance 
of appropriations as specifically authorized by 
law. 
‘‘(7) FUNDING.—(A) Except as provided in sub-
paragraph (B), the term ‘funding’ means all or part 
of the dollar amount of budget authority or obliga-
tion limit— 
‘‘(i) specified in an appropriation measure, 
or the dollar amount of budget authority or ob-
ligation limit required to be allocated by a spe-
cific proviso in an appropriation measure for 
which a specific dollar figure was not included; 
‘‘(ii) represented separately in any table, 
chart, or explanatory text included in the state-
ment of managers or the governing committee 
report accompanying such law; or 
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‘‘(iii) represented by the product of the es-
timated procurement cost and the total quantity 
of items specified in an appropriation measure 
or included in the statement of managers or the 
governing committee report accompanying such 
law. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘funding’ does not include— 
‘‘(i) direct spending; 
‘‘(ii) budget authority in an appropriation 
measure which funds direct spending provided 
for in other law; 
‘‘(iii) any existing budget authority can-
celed in an appropriation measure; or 
‘‘(iv) any restriction or condition in an ap-
propriation measure or the accompanying state-
ment of managers or committee reports on the 
expenditure of budget authority for an account, 
program, project, or activity, or on activities in-
volving such expenditure. 
‘‘(8) WITHHOLD.—The terms ‘withhold’ and 
‘withholding’ apply to any executive action or inac-
tion that precludes the obligation of funding at a 
time when it would otherwise have been available to 
an agency for obligation. The terms do not include 
administrative or preparatory actions undertaken 
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prior to obligation in the normal course of imple-
menting budget laws. 
‘‘EXPIRATION 
‘‘SEC. 1016. On October 1, 2028, the amendments 
made by A Fast-Tracked Executive Rescission Review 
(AFTERR) of Appropriations Act of 2018 shall be re-
placed by the provisions of part B of the Impoundment 
Control Act of 1974 as in effect immediately before the 
date of enactment of A Fast-Tracked Executive Rescission 
Review (AFTERR) of Appropriations Act of 2018.’’. 
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
(a) 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 ‘‘1017’’ and 
inserting ‘‘1013’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section 
1017’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1013’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) The last sentence 
of section 1(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impound-
ment Control Act of 1974 is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Sections 1011 through 1016 of part B of title X may 
be cited as ‘A Fast-Tracked Executive Rescission Review 
(AFTERR) of Appropriations Act of 2018’.’’. 
(2) Section 1017 of such Act (as redesignated) is 
amended by striking ‘‘section 1012 or 1013’’ each place 
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it appears and inserting ‘‘section 1011 or 1019’’ and sec-
tion 1018 (as redesignated) is amended by striking ‘‘cal-
endar’’ and ‘‘of continuous session’’. 
(3) Section 1019(c) of such Act (as redesignated) is 
amended by striking ‘‘1012’’ and inserting ‘‘1011’’. 
(4) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents set 
forth in section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Im-
poundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by striking 
the items relating to parts B and C (including all of the 
items relating to the sections therein) of title X and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘PART B—CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED RESCISSIONS AND 
DEFERRALS OF BUDGET AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATION LIMITATIONS 
‘‘Sec. 1011. Congressional consideration of proposed rescissions and deferrals 
of budget authority and obligation limitations. 
‘‘Sec. 1012. Grants of and limitations on Presidential authority. 
‘‘Sec. 1013. Procedures for Expedited Consideration. 
‘‘Sec. 1014. Treatment of rescissions. 
‘‘Sec. 1015. Definitions. 
‘‘Sec. 1016. Expiration.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this Act shall apply to funding as defined in section 
1015(8) of the Congressional Budget Act and Impound-
ment Control of 1974 in any Act enacted after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. APPROVAL MEASURES CONSIDERED. 
Section 314 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 
as subsections (c) through (f) and by inserting after 
subsection (a) the following new subsection: 
‘‘(b) ADJUSTMENTS FOR RESCISSIONS.—(1) When-
ever an approval bill passes the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on the Budget shall immediately reduce the 
applicable allocations under section 302(a) by the total 
amount of reductions in budget authority and in outlays 
resulting from such approval bill. 
‘‘(2) As used in this subsection, the term ‘approval 
bill’ has the meaning given to such term in section 1015.’’; 
and 
(2) in subsection (d) (as redesignated), by in-
serting ‘‘or (b)’’ after ‘‘subsection (a)’’. 
Æ 
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