109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2372
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974 to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed cancellations
of appropriations, new direct spending, and limited tax benefits.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 6, 2006
Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on the Budget
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974 to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed cancellations
of appropriations, new direct spending, and limited tax benefits.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Expedited Budget Item Veto Review Act of 2006'.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN PROPOSED BUDGET
ITEMS.
(a) In General- 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:
`EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN BUDGET ITEMS
`SEC. 1013. (a) Proposed Budget Item Cancellations-
`(1) IN GENERAL- In addition to the method of rescinding budget authority
specified in section 1012, the President may suspend and propose for cancellation,
at the time and in the manner provided in subsection (b)--
`(A) any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority;
`(B) any item of new direct spending; or
`(C) any limited tax benefit.
`(2) AVAILABILITY- Items described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of
paragraph (1) made available under this section may not be proposed for
suspension and cancellation again under this section or section 1012.
`(b) Transmittal of Special Message-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 3 calendar days after the date of enactment
of the law to which the suspension applies, the President may transmit
to Congress a special message suspending items provided in that Act described
in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of subsection (a)(1) and proposing to
cancel those items and include with that special message a draft bill
for each item that, if enacted, would only cancel that item. That bill
shall clearly identify the item that is proposed to be cancelled.
`(2) APPLICATION- In the case of a proposed cancellation, the special
message shall also include--
`(A) for every item a determination that such cancellation will--
`(i) reduce the Federal budget deficit;
`(ii) not impair any essential Government functions; and
`(iii) not harm the national interest; and
`(B) any account, department, or establishment of the Government for
which budget authority was to have been available for obligation and
the specific project or governmental functions involved;
`(C) the specific States and congressional districts, if any, affected
by the cancellation; and
`(D) the total number of cancellations imposed during the current session
of Congress on States and congressional districts identified in subparagraph
(C).
`(3) BUDGET AUTHORITY- Each special message shall specify, with respect
to the budget authority proposed to be cancelled, the matters referred
to in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 1012(a).
`(c) Procedures for Expedited Consideration-
`(A) INTRODUCTION- Before the close of the second legislative 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 accompanying that special message. If the bill
is not introduced as provided in the preceding sentence, then, on the
third legislative day of the House of Representatives after the date
of receipt of that special message, any Member of that House may introduce
the bill.
`(B) REFERRAL- The bill shall be referred to the appropriate committee
of the House of Representatives. 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
that House after the date of receipt of that special message. If the
committee fails to report the bill within that period, that committee
shall be automatically discharged from consideration of the bill, and
the bill shall be placed on the appropriate calendar.
`(C) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE- 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 that House after
the date of the introduction of the bill in that House. If the bill
is passed, the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall cause the
bill to be engrossed, certified, and transmitted to the Senate within
one calendar day of the day on which the bill is passed.
`(2) PROCEDURES IN THE HOUSE-
`(A) MOTION TO PROCEED- A motion in the House of Representatives to
proceed to the consideration of a bill under this section shall be highly
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- 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 section or to move to reconsider
the vote by which the bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
`(C) APPEALS- Appeals from decisions of the Chair relating 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) PROCEDURES IN THE SENATE-
`(A) REFERRAL- A bill transmitted to the Senate pursuant to paragraph
(1)(C) shall be referred to the appropriate committee. 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 Senate after it receives the bill. A committee
failing to report the bill within such period shall be automatically
discharged from consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be placed
upon the appropriate calendar.
`(B) FINAL PASSAGE- A vote on final passage of a bill transmitted to
the Senate shall be taken on or before the close of the 10th legislative
day of the Senate after the date on which the bill is transmitted.
`(i) MOTIONS- 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.
`(ii) DEBATE ON BILL- 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.
`(iii) DEBATE ON MOTIONS- 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 designee. 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 consideration of any debatable motion
or appeal.
`(iv) MOTION TO LIMIT DEBATE- 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.
`(d) 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 Committee of the Whole) or in the
Senate. No motion to suspend the application of this subsection shall be
in order in either House, nor shall it be in order in either House to suspend
the application of this subsection by unanimous consent.
`(e) Requirement to Make Available for Obligation- Any budget item proposed
to be cancelled in a special message transmitted to Congress under subsection
(b) shall be made available for obligation or take effect on--
`(A) the day after the date upon which the House of Representatives
defeats the bill transmitted with that special message rescinding the
amount proposed to be rescinded; or
`(B) the day after the date upon which the Senate rejects a bill that
makes rescissions to carry out the applicable special message of the
President; or
`(2) the effective date of the provision if such effective date occurs
after the applicable date in paragraph (1).
`(f) Identification of Limited Tax Benefits-
`(1) STATEMENT BY JOINT TAX COMMITTEE-
`(A) REVIEW- The Joint Committee on Taxation shall review any revenue
or reconciliation bill or joint resolution which includes any amendment
to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is being prepared for filing
by a committee of conference of the 2 Houses, and shall identify whether
such bill or joint resolution contains any limited tax benefits.
`(B) STATEMENT- 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 joint resolution does not contain
any limited 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 LEGISLATION-
`(A) REQUIREMENT- Notwithstanding any other rule of the House of Representatives
or any rule or precedent of the Senate, any revenue or reconciliation
bill or joint resolution which includes any amendment to the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 reported by a committee of conference of the 2
Houses may include, as a separate section of such bill or joint resolution,
the information contained in the statement of the Joint Committee on
Taxation, but only in the manner set forth in subparagraph (B).
`(B) CONTENT- The separate section permitted under subparagraph (A)
shall read as follows: `Section 1021(a)(3) of the Congressional Budget
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 shall XXXX apply to XXXXXX.',
with the blank spaces being filled in with--
`(i) in any case in which the Joint Committee on Taxation identifies
limited tax benefits 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 Committee on Taxation in such statement in the second blank
space; or
`(ii) in any case in which the Joint Committee 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 or reconciliation 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)(ii), then the
President may use the authority granted in this section only to suspend
and propose to cancel any limited tax benefit in that law, if any, identified
in such separate section; or
`(B) without a separate section described in paragraph (2)(ii), then
the President may use the authority granted in this section to suspend
and propose to cancel any limited tax benefit in that law that meets
the definition in subsection (g).
`(4) CONGRESSIONAL IDENTIFICATIONS OF LIMITED TAX BENEFITS- There shall
be no judicial review of the congressional identification under paragraphs
(1) and (2) of a limited tax benefit in a conference report.
`(g) Definitions- In this section:
`(1) APPROPRIATION LAW- The term `appropriation law' 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 appropriations, that has been signed into law pursuant to
Article I, section 7, of the Constitution of the United States.
`(2) CALENDAR DAY- The term `calendar day' means a standard 24-hour period
beginning at midnight.
`(3) CANCEL- The term `cancel' or `cancellation' means--
`(A) with respect to any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority,
to rescind;
`(B) with respect to any item of new direct spending--
`(i) that is budget authority provided by law (other than an appropriation
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
provision of law that provides such benefit from having legal force
or effect.
`(4) DIRECT SPENDING- The term `direct spending' means--
`(A) budget authority provided by law (other than an appropriation law);
`(B) entitlement authority; and
`(C) the Food Stamp Program.
`(5) DISAPPROVAL BILL- The term `disapproval bill' means a bill or joint
resolution which only disapproves 1 or more cancellations of dollar amounts
of discretionary budget authority, items of new direct spending, or limited
tax benefits in a special message transmitted by the President under this
part and--
`(A) the title of which is as follows: `A bill disapproving the cancellations
transmitted by the President on XXXX', 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;
`(B) which does not have a preamble; and
`(C) which provides only the following after the enacting clause: `That
Congress disapproves of cancellations XXXX', the blank space
being filled in with a list by reference number of 1 or more cancellations
contained in the President's special message, `as transmitted by the
President in a special message on XXXX', the blank space being
filled in with the appropriate date, `regarding XXXX', the blank
space being filled in with the public law number to which the special
message relates.
`(6) DOLLAR AMOUNT OF DISCRETIONARY BUDGET AUTHORITY-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term `dollar
amount of discretionary budget authority' means the entire dollar amount
of budget authority--
`(i) specified in an appropriation law, or the entire dollar amount
of budget authority required to be allocated by a specific proviso
in an appropriation law for which a specific dollar figure was not
included;
`(ii) represented separately in any table, chart, or explanatory text
included in the statement of managers or the governing committee report
accompanying such law;
`(iii) required to be allocated for a specific program, project, or
activity in a law (other than an appropriation law) that mandates
the expenditure of budget authority from accounts, programs, projects,
or activities for which budget authority is provided in an appropriation
law;
`(iv) represented by the product of the estimated procurement cost
and the total quantity of items specified in an appropriation law
or included in the statement of managers or the governing committee
report accompanying such law; and
`(v) represented by the product of the estimated procurement cost
and the total quantity of items required to be provided in a law (other
than an appropriation law) that mandates the expenditure of budget
authority from accounts, programs, projects, or activities for which
budget authority is provided in an appropriation law.
`(B) EXCLUSION- The term `dollar amount of discretionary budget authority'
does not include--
`(ii) budget authority in an appropriation law which funds direct
spending provided for in other law;
`(iii) any existing budget authority rescinded or canceled in an appropriation
law; or
`(iv) any restriction, condition, or limitation in an appropriation
law or the accompanying statement of managers or committee reports
on the expenditure of budget authority for an account, program, project,
or activity, or on activities involving such expenditure.
`(7) ITEM OF NEW DIRECT SPENDING- The term `item of new direct spending'
means any specific provision of law that is estimated to result in an
increase in budget authority or outlays for direct spending relative to
the most recent levels calculated pursuant to section 257 of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
`(8) LEGISLATIVE DAY- The term `legislative day' means, with respect to
either House of Congress, any calendar day during which that House is
in session.
`(9) LIMITED TAX BENEFIT-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The term `limited tax benefit' means--
`(i) any negative revenue provision which provides a Federal tax deduction,
credit, exclusion, or preference to 100 or fewer beneficiaries under
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in any fiscal year for which the
provision is in effect; and
`(ii) any Federal tax provision which provides temporary or permanent
transitional relief for 10 or fewer beneficiaries in any fiscal year
from a change to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
`(B) NEGATIVE REVENUE- A provision shall not be treated as described
in subparagraph (A)(i) if the effect of that provision is that--
`(i) all persons in the same industry or engaged in the same type
of activity receive the same treatment;
`(ii) all persons owning the same type of property, or issuing the
same type of investment, receive the same treatment; or
`(iii) any difference in the treatment of persons is based solely
on--
`(I) in the case of businesses and associations, the size or form
of the business or association involved;
`(II) in the case of individuals, general demographic conditions,
such as income, marital status, number of dependents, or tax return
filing status;
`(III) the amount involved; or
`(IV) a generally-available election under the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986.
`(C) SPECIAL BENEFIT- A provision shall not be treated as described
in subparagraph (A)(ii) if--
`(i) it provides for the retention of prior law with respect to all
binding contracts or other legally enforceable obligations in existence
on a date contemporaneous with congressional action specifying such
date; or
`(ii) it is a technical correction to previously enacted legislation
that is estimated to have no revenue effect.
`(D) CONSTRUCTION- For purposes of subparagraph (A)--
`(i) all businesses and associations which are related within the
meaning of sections 707(b) and 1563(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 shall be treated as a single beneficiary;
`(ii) all qualified plans of an employer shall be treated as a single
beneficiary;
`(iii) all holders of the same bond issue shall be treated as a single
beneficiary; and
`(iv) if a corporation, partnership, association, trust or estate
is the beneficiary of a provision, the shareholders of the corporation,
the partners of the partnership, the members of the association, or
the beneficiaries of the trust or estate shall not also be treated
as beneficiaries of such provision.
`(E) NEGATIVE REVENUE PROVISION- For purposes of this paragraph, the
term `negative revenue provision' means any provision which results
in a reduction in Federal tax revenues for any 1 of the 2 following
periods--
`(i) the first fiscal year for which the provision is effective; or
`(ii) the period of the 5 fiscal years beginning with the first fiscal
year for which the provision is effective.
`(F) OTHER TERMS- The terms used in this paragraph shall have the same
meaning as those terms have generally in the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, unless otherwise expressly provided.
`(10) OMB- The term `OMB' means the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget.'.
(b) Exercise of Rulemaking Powers- Section 904 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 621
note) is amended--
(1) by striking `and 1017' in subsection (a) and inserting `1013, and
1018'; and
(2) by striking `section 1017' in subsection (d) and inserting `sections
1013 and 1018'.
(c) Conforming Amendments-
(1) Section 1011 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 682(5)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking `1013' and inserting `1014'; and
(i) by striking `1016' and inserting `1017'; and
(ii) by striking `1017(b)(1)' and inserting `1018(b)(1)'.
(2) Section 1015 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 685) (as redesignated by section
2(a)) is amended--
(A) by striking `1012 or 1013' each place it appears and inserting `1012,
1013, or 1014';
(B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking `1012' and inserting `1012 or
1013';
(C) in subsection (b)(2), by striking `1013' and inserting `1014'; and
(D) in subsection (e)(2)--
(i) by striking `and' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(ii) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
(iii) by striking `1013' in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated)
and inserting `1014'; and
(iv) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:
`(B) he has transmitted a special message under section 1013 with respect
to a proposed rescission; and'.
(3) Section 1016 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 686) (as redesignated by section
2(a)) is amended by striking `1012 or 1013' each place it appears and
inserting `1012, 1013, or 1014'.
(d) Clerical Amendments- The table of sections for subpart B of title X
of such Act is amended--
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 1013 through 1017
as items relating to sections 1014 through 1018; and
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 1012 the following
new item:
`Sec. 1013. Proposed budget item suspensions.'.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION.
Section 1013 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974 (as added by section 2) shall apply to budget, spending, and revenue
items that are enacted during the One Hundred Ninth Congress and thereafter.
END
