S 102 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

S. 102CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide an optional fast-track procedure the President may use when submitting rescission requests, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. CARPER, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. COATS, Mr. BENNET, Mr. ENZI, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. MORAN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. COBURN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. RISCH, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. THUNE, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the BudgetCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide an optional fast-track procedure the President may use when submitting rescission requests, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2011’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to create an optional fast-track procedure the President may use when submitting rescission requests, which would lead to an up-or-down vote by Congress on the President’s package of rescissions, without amendment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. RESCISSIONS OF FUNDING.

The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by striking part C and inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘PART C--EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED RESCISSIONS

‘SEC. 1021. APPLICABILITY AND DISCLAIMER.

‘The rules, procedures, requirements, and definitions in this part apply only to executive and legislative actions explicitly taken under this part. They do not apply to actions taken under part B or to other executive and legislative actions not taken under this part.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 1022. DEFINITIONS.

‘In this part:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) The terms ‘appropriations Act’, ‘budget authority’, and ‘new budget authority’ have the same meanings as in section 3 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) The terms ‘account’, ‘current year’, ‘CBO’, and ‘OMB’ have the same meanings as in section 250 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 as in effect on September 30, 2002.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) The term ‘days of session’ shall be calculated by excluding weekends and national holidays. Any day during which a chamber of Congress is not in session shall not be counted as a day of session of that chamber. Any day during which neither chamber is in session shall not be counted as a day of session of Congress.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) The term ‘entitlement law’ means the statutory mandate or requirement of the United States to incur a financial obligation unless that obligation is explicitly conditioned on the appropriation in subsequent legislation of sufficient funds for that purpose, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) The term ‘funding’ refers to new budget authority and obligation limits except to the extent that the funding is provided for entitlement law.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) The term ‘rescind’ means to eliminate or reduce the amount of enacted funding.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(7) The terms ‘withhold’ and ‘withholding’ apply to any executive action or inaction that precludes the obligation of funding at a time when it would otherwise have been available to an agency for obligation. The terms do not include administrative or preparatory actions undertaken prior to obligation in the normal course of implementing budget laws.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 1023. TIMING AND PACKAGING OF RESCISSION REQUESTS.

‘(a) Timing- If the President proposes that Congress rescind funding under the procedures in this part, OMB shall transmit a message to Congress containing the information specified in section 1024, and the message transmitting the proposal shall be sent to Congress not later than 45 calendar days after the date of enactment of the funding.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Packaging and Transmittal of Requested Rescissions- Except as provided in subsection (c), for each piece of legislation that provides funding, the President shall request at most 1 package of rescissions and the rescissions in that package shall apply only to funding contained in that legislation. OMB shall deliver each message requesting a package of rescissions to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not in session and to the Clerk of the House of Representatives if the House is not in session. OMB shall make a copy of the transmittal message publicly available, and shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of the message and information on how it can be obtained.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Special Packaging Rules- After enactment of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) a joint resolution making continuing appropriations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) a supplemental appropriations bill; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) an omnibus appropriations bill;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





covering some or all of the activities customarily funded in more than 1 regular appropriations bill, the President may propose as many as 2 packages rescinding funding contained in that legislation, each within the 45-day period specified in subsection (a). OMB shall not include the same rescission in both packages, and, if the President requests the rescission of more than one discrete amount of funding under the jurisdiction of a single subcommittee, OMB shall include each of those discrete amounts in the same package.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 1024. REQUESTS TO RESCIND FUNDING.

‘For each request to rescind funding under this part, the transmittal message shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) specify--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the dollar amount to be rescinded;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) the agency, bureau, and account from which the rescission shall occur;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) the program, project, or activity within the account (if applicable) from which the rescission shall occur;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) the amount of funding, if any, that would remain for the account, program, project, or activity if the rescission request is enacted; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) the reasons the President requests the rescission;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) designate each separate rescission request by number; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) include proposed legislative language to accomplish the requested rescissions which may not include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) any changes in existing law, other than the rescission of funding; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) any supplemental appropriations, transfers, or reprogrammings.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 1025. GRANTS OF AND LIMITATIONS ON PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY.

‘(a) Presidential Authority To Withhold Funding- Notwithstanding any other provision of law and if the President proposes a rescission of funding under this part, OMB may, subject to the time limits provided in subsection (c), temporarily withhold that funding from obligation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Expedited Procedures Available Only Once Per Bill- The President may not invoke the procedures of this part, or the authority to withhold funding granted by subsection (a), on more than 1 occasion for any Act providing funding.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Time Limits- OMB shall make available for obligation any funding withheld under subsection (a) on the earliest of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) the day on which the President determines that the continued withholding or reduction no longer advances the purpose of legislative consideration of the rescission request;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) starting from the day on which OMB transmitted a message to Congress requesting the rescission of funding, 25 calendar days in which the House of Representatives has been in session or 25 calendar days in which the Senate has been in session, whichever occurs second; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) the last day after which the obligation of the funding in question can no longer be fully accomplished in a prudent manner before its expiration.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Deficit Reduction-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- Funds that are rescinded under this part shall be dedicated only to reducing the deficit or increasing the surplus.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF LEVELS IN THE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET- Not later than 5 days after the date of enactment of an approval bill as provided under this part, the chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall revise allocations and aggregates and other appropriate levels under the appropriate concurrent resolution on the budget to reflect the repeal or cancellation, and the applicable committees shall report revised suballocations pursuant to section 302(b), as appropriate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 1026. CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF RESCISSION REQUESTS.

‘(a) Preparation of Legislation To Consider a Package of Expedited Rescission Requests-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- If the House of Representatives receives a package of expedited rescission requests, the Clerk shall prepare a House bill that only rescinds the amounts requested which shall read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘There are enacted the rescissions numbered [insert number or numbers] as set forth in the Presidential message of [insert date] transmitted under part C of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 as amended.’CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) EXCLUSION PROCEDURE- The Clerk shall include in the bill each numbered rescission request listed in the Presidential package in question, except that the Clerk shall omit a numbered rescission request if the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House, after consulting with the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate, CBO, GAO, and the House and Senate committees that have jurisdiction over the funding, determines that the numbered rescission does not refer to funding or includes matter not permitted under a request to rescind funding.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Introduction and Referral of Legislation To Enact a Package of Expedited Rescissions- The majority leader or the minority leader of the House or Representatives, or a designee, shall (by request) introduce each bill prepared under subsection (a) not later than 4 days of session of the House after its transmittal, or, if no such bill is introduced within that period, any member of the House may introduce the required bill in the required form on the fifth or sixth day of session of the House after its transmittal. If such an expedited rescission bill is introduced in accordance with the preceding sentence, it shall be referred to the House committee of jurisdiction. A copy of the introduced House bill shall be transmitted to the Secretary of the Senate, who shall provide it to the Senate committee of jurisdiction.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) House Report and Consideration of Legislation To Enact a Package of Expedited Rescissions- The House committee of jurisdiction shall report without amendment the bill referred to it under subsection (b) not more than 5 days of session of the House after the referral. The committee may order the bill reported favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation. If the committee has not reported the bill by the end of the 5-day period, the committee shall be automatically discharged from further consideration of the bill and it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) House Motion To Proceed-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- After a bill to enact an expedited rescission package has been reported or the committee of jurisdiction has been discharged under subsection (c), it shall be in order to move to proceed to consider the bill in the House. A Member who wishes to move to proceed to consideration of the bill shall announce that fact, and the motion to proceed shall be in order only during a time designated by the Speaker within the legislative schedule for the next calendar day of legislative session or the one immediately following it.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) FAILURE TO SET TIME- If the Speaker does not designate a time under paragraph (1), 3 or more calendar days of legislative session after the bill has been reported or discharged, it shall be in order for any Member to move to proceed to consider the bill.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) PROCEDURE- A motion to proceed under this subsection shall not be in order after the House has disposed of a prior motion to proceed with respect to that package of expedited rescissions. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to proceed, without intervening motion. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion to proceed has been disposed of shall not be in order.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) REMOVAL FROM CALENDAR- If 5 calendar days of legislative session have passed since the bill was reported or discharged under this subsection and no Member has made a motion to proceed, the bill shall be removed from the calendar.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) House Consideration-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) CONSIDERED AS READ- A bill consisting of a package of rescissions under this part shall be considered as read.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) POINTS OF ORDER- All points of order against the bill are waived, except that a point of order may be made that 1 or more numbered rescissions included in the bill would enact language containing matter not requested by the President or not permitted under this part as part of that package. If the Presiding Officer sustains such a point of order, the numbered rescission or rescissions that would enact such language are deemed to be automatically stripped from the bill and consideration proceeds on the bill as modified.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) PREVIOUS QUESTION- The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill to its passage without intervening motion, except that 4 hours of debate equally divided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent are allowed, as well as 1 motion to further limit debate on the bill.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) MOTION TO RECONSIDER- A motion to reconsider the vote on passage of the bill shall not be in order.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Senate Consideration-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) REFERRAL- If the House of Representatives approves a House bill enacting a package of rescissions, that bill as passed by the House shall be sent to the Senate and referred to the Senate committee of jurisdiction.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) COMMITTEE ACTION- The committee of jurisdiction shall report without amendment the bill referred to it under this subsection not later than 3 days of session of the Senate after the referral. The committee may order the bill reported favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) DISCHARGE- If the committee has not reported the bill by the end of the 3-day period, the committee shall be automatically discharged from further consideration of the bill and it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) MOTION TO PROCEED- On the following day and for 3 subsequent calendar days in which the Senate is in session, it shall be in order for any Senator to move to proceed to consider the bill in the Senate. Upon such a motion being made, it shall be deemed to have been agreed to and the motion to reconsider shall be deemed to have been laid on the table.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) DEBATE- Debate on the bill in the Senate under this subsection, and all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall not exceed 10 hours, equally divided and controlled in the usual form. Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or appeal in connection with such a bill shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, to be equally divided and controlled in the usual form. A motion to further limit debate on such a bill is not debatable.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) MOTIONS NOT IN ORDER- A motion to amend such a bill or strike a provision from it is not in order. A motion to recommit such a bill is not in order.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(g) Senate Point of Order- It shall not be in order under this part for the Senate to consider a bill approved by the House enacting a package of rescissions under this part if any numbered rescission in the bill would enact matter not requested by the President or not permitted under this Act as part of that package. If a point of order under this subsection is sustained, the bill may not be considered under this part.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

(a) Table of Contents- Section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by striking the matter for part C of title X and inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘PART C--Expedited Consideration of Proposed Rescissions

‘Sec. 1021. Applicability and disclaimer.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 1022. Definitions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 1023. Timing and packaging of rescission requests.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 1024. Requests to rescind funding.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 1025. Grants of and limitations on presidential authority.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 1026. Congressional consideration of rescission requests.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Temporary Withholding- Section 1013(c) of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by striking ‘section 1012’ and inserting ‘section 1012 or section 1025’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Rulemaking-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) 904(a)- Section 904(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by striking ‘and 1017’ and inserting ‘1017, and 1026’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) 904(d)(1)- Section 904(d)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is amended by striking ‘1017’ and inserting ‘1017 or 1026’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO PART A OF THE IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT.

(a) In General- Part A of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by inserting at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 1002. SEVERABILITY.

‘If the judicial branch of the United States finally determines that 1 or more of the provisions of parts B or C violate the Constitution of the United States, the remaining provisions of those parts shall continue in effect.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- Section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is amended by inserting at the end of the matter for part A of title X the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 1002. Severability.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. EXPIRATION.

Part C of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (as amended by this Act) shall expire on December 31, 2015.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink