I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 493
To give the President legislative, line-item veto rescission authority over
appropriation bills and targeted tax benefits in revenue bills.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 20, 1993
Mr. MICHEL introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the
Committees on Government Operations and Rules
A BILL
To give the President legislative, line-item veto rescission
authority over appropriation bills and targeted tax bene-
fits in revenue bills.
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 ‘‘The Enhanced Rescis-
sion/Receipts Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. LEGISLATIVE LINE ITEM VETO RESCISSION AU-
THORITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the provisions of
part B of title X of The Congressional Budget and Im-
poundment Control Act of 1974, and subject to the provi-
sions of this section, the President may rescind all or part
of any discretionary budget authority or veto any targeted
tax benefit within any revenue bill which is subject to the
terms of this Act if the President—
(1) determines that—
(A) such rescission or veto would help re-
duce the Federal budget deficit;
(B) such rescission or veto will not impair
any essential Government functions; and
(C) such rescission or veto will not harm
the national interest; and
(2) notifies the Congress of such rescission or
veto by a special message not later than twenty cal-
endar days (not including Saturdays, Sundays, or
holidays) after the date of enactment of a regular or
supplemental appropriation act or a joint resolution
making continuing appropriations providing such
budget authority or a revenue bill containing a tar-
geted tax benefit.
The President shall submit a separate rescission message
for each appropriation bill and for each revenue bill under
this paragraph.
SEC. 3. RESCISSION EFFECTIVE UNLESS DISAPPROVED.
(a)(1) Any amount of budget authority rescinded
under this Act as set forth in a special message by the
President shall be deemed canceled unless, during the pe-
riod described in subsection (b), a rescission/receipts dis-
approval bill making available all of the amount rescinded
is enacted into law.
(2) Any provision of law vetoed under this Act as set
forth in a special message by the President shall be
deemed repealed unless, during the period described in
subsection (b), a rescission/receipts disapproval bill restor-
ing that provision is enacted into law.
(b) The period referred to in subsection (a) is—
(1) a congressional review period of twenty cal-
endar days of session during which Congress must
complete action on the rescission/receipts disapproval
bill and present such bill to the President for ap-
proval or disapproval;
(2) after the period provided in paragraph (1),
an additional ten days (not including Sundays) dur-
ing which the President may exercise his authority
to sign or veto the rescission/receipts disapproval
bill; and
(3) if the President vetoes the rescission/re-
ceipts disapproval bill during the period provided in
paragraph (2), an additional five calendar days of
session after the date of the veto.
(c) If a special message is transmitted by the Presi-
dent under this Act and the last session of the Congress
adjourns sine die before the expiration of the period de-
scribed in subsection (b), the rescission or veto, as the case
may be, shall not take effect. The message shall be deemed
to have been retransmitted on the first day of the succeed-
ing Congress and the review period referred to in sub-
section (b) (with respect to such message) shall run begin-
ning after such first day.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘rescission/receipts disapproval
bill’’ means a bill or joint resolution which—
(A) only disapproves a rescission of budget
authority, in whole, rescinded, or
(B) only disapproves a veto of any provi-
sion of law that would decrease receipts,
in a special message transmitted by the President
under this Act.
(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 which has the practical effect of providing
a benefit in the form of a differential treatment to
a particular taxpayer or a limited class of taxpayers,
whether or not such provision is limited by its terms
to a particular taxpayer or a class of taxpayers.
Such term does not include any benefit provided to
a class of taxpayers distinguished on the basis of
general demographic conditions such as income,
number of dependents, or marital status.
SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATIVE
LINE ITEM VETO RESCISSIONS.
(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 factions, 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.
(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.
(d) 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.
(e) POINTS OF ORDER.—
(1) It shall not be in order in the Senate or the
House of Representatives to consider any rescission/
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 or the
House of Representatives to consider any amend-
ment 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.