Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/524bv.pdf
Page Number: 482

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Cite as: 524 U. S. 417 (1998)

437

Opinion of the Court

either of the cancellations involved in these cases.24 A ma-
jority vote of both Houses is sufﬁcient to enact a disapproval
bill. The Act does not grant the President the authority to
cancel a disapproval bill, see § 691(c), but he does, of course,
retain his constitutional authority to veto such a bill.25

The effect of a cancellation is plainly stated in § 691e,
which deﬁnes the principal terms used in the Act. With re-
spect to both an item of new direct spending and a limited
tax beneﬁt, the cancellation prevents the item “from having
§§ 691e(4)(B)–(C).26 Thus, under the
legal force or effect.”

24 Congress failed to act upon proposed legislation to disapprove these
cancellations. See S. 1157, H. R. 2444, S. 1144, and H. R. 2436, 105th
Indeed, despite the fact that the President has
Cong., 1st Sess. (1997).
canceled at least 82 items since the Act was passed, see Statement of June
E. O’Neill, Director, Congressional Budget Ofﬁce, Line Item Veto Act
After One Year, The Process and Its Implementation, before the Subcom-
mittee on Legislative and Budget Process of the House Committee on
Rules, 105th Cong., 2d Sess. (Mar. 11–12, 1998), Congress has enacted only
one law, over a Presidential veto, disapproving any cancellation, see Pub.
L. 105–159, 112 Stat. 19 (1998) (disapproving the cancellation of 38 military
construction spending items).

25 See n. 29, infra.
26 The term “cancel,” used in connection with any dollar amount of dis-
2 U. S. C. § 691e(4)(A).

cretionary budget authority, means “to rescind.”
The entire deﬁnition reads as follows:

“The term ‘cancel’ or ‘cancellation’ means—
“(A) with respect to any dollar amount of discretionary budget author-

ity, to rescind;

“(B) with respect to any item of new direct spending—
“(i) that is budget authority provided by law (other than an appropria-
tion law), to prevent such budget authority from having legal force or
effect;

“(ii) that is entitlement authority, to prevent the speciﬁc legal obligation

of the United States from having legal force or effect; or

“(iii) through the food stamp program, to prevent the speciﬁc provision
of law that results in an increase in budget authority or outlays for that
program from having legal force or effect; and

“(C) with respect to a limited tax beneﬁt, to prevent the speciﬁc provi-
sion of law that provides such beneﬁt from having legal force or effect.”
2 U. S. C. § 691e(4) (1994 ed., Supp. II).