S 3006
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3006
To establish procedures for the expedited consideration by
Congress of certain proposals by the President to rescind amounts of
budget authority.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 12, 2008
Mr. CARPER (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. BAYH, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on the Budget
A BILL
To establish procedures for the expedited consideration by
Congress of certain proposals by the President to rescind amounts of
budget authority.
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 `Budget Enforcement Legislative Tool Act
of 2008'.
SEC. 2. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN PROPOSED RESCISSIONS.
(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 CERTAIN PROPOSED RESCISSIONS
`Sec. 1013. (a) Proposed Rescission of Discretionary Budget Authority-
In addition to the method of rescinding discretionary budget authority
specified in section 1012, the President may propose, at the time and
in the manner provided in subsection (b), the rescission of any discretionary
budget authority provided in an appropriations Act. Funds made available
for obligation under this procedure may not be proposed for rescission
again under this section or section 1012.
`(b) Transmittal of Special Message-
`(1) Not later than 3 days after the date of enactment of an appropriations
Act subject to rescission under this section, the President may transmit
to Congress a special message proposing to rescind amounts of discretionary
budget authority provided in that Act and include with that special
message a draft bill or joint resolution that, if enacted, would only
rescind that discretionary budget authority.
`(2) In the case of an Act that includes accounts within the jurisdiction
of more than one subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
the President in proposing to rescind discretionary budget authority
under this section shall send a separate special message and accompanying
draft bill or joint resolution for accounts within the jurisdiction
of each such subcommittee.
`(3) Each special message shall specify, with respect to the discretionary
budget authority proposed to be rescinded, the matters referred to
in paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 1012(a).
`(c) Limitation on Amounts Subject to Rescission-
`(1) The amount of discretionary budget authority which the President
may propose to rescind in a special message under this section for
a particular program, project, or activity for a fiscal year may not
exceed 25 percent of the amount appropriated for that program, project,
or activity in that Act.
`(2) The limitation contained in paragraph (1) shall only apply to
a program, project, or activity that is authorized by law.
`(d) Procedures for Expedited Consideration-
`(1)(A) Before the close of the second day of continuous session of
the applicable House 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 Congress in which the Act involved
originated shall introduce (by request) the draft bill or joint resolution
accompanying that special message. If the bill or joint resolution
is not introduced as provided in the preceding sentence, then, on
the third day of continuous session of that House after the date of
receipt of that special message, any Member of that House may introduce
the bill or joint resolution.
`(B) The bill or joint resolution shall be referred to the Committee
on Appropriations of that House. The committee shall report the bill
or joint resolution without substantive revision and with or without
recommendation. The bill or joint resolution shall be reported not
later than the seventh day of continuous session of that House after
the date of receipt of that special message. If the Committee on Appropriations
fails to report the bill or joint resolution within that period, that
committee shall be automatically discharged from consideration of
the bill or joint resolution, and the bill or joint resolution shall
be placed on the appropriate calendar.
`(C) A vote on final passage of the bill or joint resolution shall
be taken in that House on or before the close of the 10th calendar
day of continuous session of that House after the date of the introduction
of the bill or joint resolution in that House. If the bill or joint
resolution is agreed to, the Clerk of the House of Representatives
(in the case of a bill or joint resolution agreed to in the House
of Representatives) or the Secretary of the Senate (in the case of
a bill or joint resolution agreed to in the Senate) shall cause the
bill or joint resolution to be engrossed, certified, and transmitted
to the other House of Congress on the same calendar day on which the
bill or joint resolution is agreed to.
`(2)(A) A bill or joint resolution transmitted to the House of Representatives
or the Senate pursuant to paragraph (1)(C) shall be referred to the
Committee on Appropriations of that House. The committee shall report
the bill or joint resolution without substantive revision and with
or without recommendation. The bill or joint resolution shall be reported
not later than the seventh day of continuous session of that House
after it receives the bill or joint resolution. A committee failing
to report the bill or joint resolution within such period shall be
automatically discharged from consideration of the bill or joint resolution,
and the bill or joint resolution shall be placed upon the appropriate
calendar.
`(B) A vote on final passage of a bill or joint resolution transmitted
to that House shall be taken on or before the close of the 10th calendar
day of continuous session of that House after the date on which the
bill or joint resolution is transmitted. If the bill or joint resolution
is agreed to in that House, the Clerk of the House of Representatives
(in the case of a bill or joint resolution agreed to in the House
of Representatives) or the Secretary of the Senate (in the case of
a bill or joint resolution agreed to in the Senate) shall cause the
engrossed bill or joint resolution to be returned to the House in
which the bill or joint resolution originated.
`(3)(A) A motion in the House of Representatives to proceed to the
consideration of a bill or joint resolution 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 in the House of Representatives on a bill or joint resolution
under this section shall not exceed 4 hours, which shall be divided
equally between those favoring and those opposing the bill or joint
resolution. A motion further to limit debate shall not be debatable.
It shall not be in order to move to recommit a bill or joint resolution
under this section or to move to reconsider the vote by which the
bill or joint resolution is agreed to or disagreed to.
`(C) 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 or joint resolution under this section shall be decided
without debate.
`(D) Except to the extent specifically provided in the preceding provisions
of this subsection, consideration of a bill or joint resolution under
this section shall be governed by the Rules of the House of Representatives.
`(4)(A) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the consideration of
a bill or joint resolution 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 or joint resolution 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 or joint resolution 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 or joint resolution, except
that in the event the manager of the bill or joint resolution 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 or joint resolution, allot additional time to any Senator
during the consideration of any debatable motion or appeal.
`(D) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate on a bill or joint
resolution under this section is not debatable. A motion to recommit
a bill or joint resolution under this section is not in order.
`(e) Amendments Prohibited- No amendment to a bill or joint resolution
considered under this section shall be in order in either the House
of Representatives or 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.
`(f) Requirement To Make Available for Obligation- Any amount of discretionary
budget authority proposed to be rescinded in a special message transmitted
to Congress under subsection (b) shall be made available for obligation
on the day after the date on which either House defeats the bill or
joint resolution transmitted with that special message.
`(g) Definitions- For purposes of this section--
`(1) continuity of a session of either House of Congress shall be
considered as broken only by an adjournment of that House sine die,
and the days on which that House is not in session because of an adjournment
of more than 3 days to a date certain shall be excluded in the computation
of any period; and
`(2) the term `discretionary budget authority' means the dollar amount
of discretionary budget authority and obligation limitations--
`(A) specified in an appropriation law, or the 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;
`(B) represented separately in any table, chart, or explanatory
text included in the statement of managers or the governing committee
report accompanying such law;
`(C) required to be allocated for a specific program, project, or
activity in a law (other than an appropriation law) that mandates
obligations from or within accounts, programs, projects, or activities
for which budget authority or an obligation limitation is provided
in an appropriation law;
`(D) 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; or
`(E) 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 obligations from
accounts, programs, projects, or activities for which dollar amount
of discretionary budget authority or an obligation limitation is
provided in an appropriation law.'.
(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 subsection
(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 subsection
(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. Expedited consideration of certain proposed rescissions.'.
(e) Application- Section 1013 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 (as added by subsection (a)) shall apply to amounts
of discretionary budget authority provided by appropriation Acts (as
defined in subsection (g)(2) of such section) that are enacted after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. TERMINATION.
The authority provided by section 1013 of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (as added by section 2) shall terminate
effective on the date in 2012 on which the Congress adjourns sine die.
END
