[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2372 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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.--
``(1) In general.--
``(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.
``(C) Motions and debate.--
``(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--
``(1) the earlier of--
``(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 ____ apply to ______.', 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 ____', 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 ____', 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 ____', the blank space being filled in with
the appropriate date, `regarding ____', 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--
``(i) direct spending;
``(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
(B) in paragraph (5)--
(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.
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