I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3523
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
to provide for expedited rescissions of budget authority and of limited
tax benefits.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 24, 2000
Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 expedited rescissions
of budget authority and of limited tax benefits.
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. PRESIDENTIAL REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED CONSID-
ERATION.
Part B of title X of the Congressional 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, respectively, and inserting
after section 1012 the following new section:
‘‘REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION
‘‘SEC. 1013. (a) PROPOSED RESCISSION OF BUDGET
AUTHORITY OR LIMITED TAX BENEFITS.—In addition to
the method of proposing rescissions specified in section
1012, the President may propose, subject to the other pro-
visions of this title, the expedited rescission of any budget
authority provided in any appropriation Act or the expe-
dited rescission of any limited tax benefit set forth in any
revenue Act amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
‘‘(b) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.—
‘‘(1)(A) Not later than 30 calendar days after
the date of enactment of an appropriation Act, the
President may transmit to Congress a special mes-
sage requesting the rescission of new 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posed to be rescinded from each program, project, or
activity funded by that Act.
‘‘(B) Not later than 30 calendar days after the
date of enactment of any revenue Act, the President
may transmit to Congress a special message pro-
posing to rescind limited tax benefits set forth in
that Act and include with that special message a
draft bill that, if enacted, would only rescind such
limited tax benefits.
‘‘(2)(A) In proposing to rescind budget author-
ity under this section, the President shall send a
separate special message and accompanying draft
bill for accounts within the jurisdiction of each sub-
committee of the Committee on Appropriations.
‘‘(B) In proposing to rescind limited tax bene-
fits under this section, the President shall transmit
a single special message to the Congress.
‘‘(3)(A) Each special message shall specify,
with respect to the budget authority proposed to be
rescinded, the matters referred to in paragraphs (1)
through (5) of section 1012(a).
‘‘(B) Each special message shall specify, with
respect to the limited tax benefits proposed to be re-
scinded, the following:
‘‘(i) The limited tax benefit proposed to be
rescinded.
‘‘(ii) The reasons for the rescission.
‘‘(iii) To the maximum extent practicable,
the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary
effect of the rescission.
‘‘(iv) 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 LIMITED TAX BENEFITS.—
‘‘(1) 
‘‘STATEMENT
BY
JOINT
TAX
COM-
MITTEE.—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 limited
tax benefits. The Joint Committee on Taxation shall
provide to the committee of conference a statement
identifying any such limited tax benefits or declaring
that the bill or resolution does not contain any lim-
ited tax benefits. 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 limited 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
limited 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 limited 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 limited tax benefit in
that law that meets the definition in section
1011(8).
‘‘(4) CONGRESSIONAL
IDENTIFICATIONS
OF
LIMITED TAX BENEFITS.—There shall be no judicial
review of the congressional identification under para-
graphs (1) and (2) of a limited tax benefit in a con-
ference report.’’.
SEC. 3. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES IN HOUSE AND SENATE.
Part B of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘PROCEDURES FOR EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION
‘‘SEC. 1019. (a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(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 the 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 the House after
the bill is introduced. If the committee fails to report
the bill within that period, the committee shall be
automatically discharged from consideration of the
bill, and the bill shall be placed on the appropriate
calendar.
‘‘(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 the House after the bill is intro-
duced. 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 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 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
Committee on Appropriations or the Committee on
Finance, as applicable. The 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) A vote on final passage of a bill trans-
mitted to the Senate shall be taken on or before the
close of the 10th legislative day of the Senate after
it receives the bill.
‘‘(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 thereto
shall be controlled by the minority leader or his des-
ignee. 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.
‘‘(b) 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.’’.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
Section 1011 of the Impoundment Control Act of
1974 is amended as follows:
(1) Paragraph (3) is amended by striking ev-
erything after ‘‘1012’’.
(2) Paragraph (4) is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(4) ‘rescind’ means, with respect to a limited
tax benefit, to prevent the specific provision of law
that provides such benefit from having legal force or
effect, and, with respect to an appropriation Act, to
reduce the amount of budget authority appropriated
in that Act, and reducing budget authority shall in-
clude reducing obligation limitations set forth in that
Act;’’.
(3) Paragraph (5) is amended to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(5) continuity of a session of the Congress
shall be considered as broken only by an adjourn-
ments of the Congress sine die, and the days on
which either House is not in session because of an
adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain
shall be excluded in the computation of the 30-day
period and the 45-day period referred to in section
1014 and the 25-day period referred to in sections
1017 and 1018; and if a special message is trans-
mitted under section 1012 or 1013 during any Con-
gress and the last session of that Congress adjourns
sine die before the expiration of the applicable 30-
day or 45-day period (or a special message is so
transmitted after the last session of the Congress
adjourns sine die), the message shall be deemed to
have been retransmitted on the first day of the suc-
ceeding Congress and the applicable period (with re-
spect to the message) shall commence on the next
day;’’.