Pub.L. 104-131 Making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 1996, and for other purposes. <> ...

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                           LINE ITEM VETO ACT

[[Page 110 STAT. 1200]]

Public Law 104-130
104th Congress

                                 An Act


 
     To give the President line item veto authority with respect to 
 appropriations, <<NOTE: Apr. 9, 1996 -  [S. 4]>>  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, <<NOTE: Line Item Veto 
Act.>> 

SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 2 USC 681 note.>>  SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Line Item Veto Act''.

SEC. 2. LINE ITEM VETO AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--Title X of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new part:

                        ``Part C--Line Item Veto

                       ``line item veto authority

    ``Sec. 1021. <<NOTE: 2 USC 691.>>  (a) In General.--Notwithstanding 
the provisions of parts A and B, and subject to the provisions of this 
part, the President may, with respect to any bill or joint resolution 
that has been signed into law pursuant to Article I, section 7, of the 
Constitution of the United States, cancel in whole--
            ``(1) any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority;
            ``(2) any item of new direct spending; or
            ``(3) any limited tax benefit;

if the President--
            ``(A) determines 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) notifies the Congress of such cancellation by 
        transmitting a special message, in accordance with section 1022, 
        within five calendar days (excluding Sundays) after the 
        enactment of the law providing the dollar amount of 
        discretionary budget authority, item of new direct spending, or 
        limited tax benefit that was canceled.

    ``(b) Identification of Cancellations.--In identifying dollar 
amounts of discretionary budget authority, items of new direct spending, 
and limited tax benefits for cancellation, the President shall--
            ``(1) consider the legislative history, construction, and 
        purposes of the law which contains such dollar amounts, items, 
        or benefits;

[[Page 110 STAT. 1201]]

            ``(2) consider any specific sources of information 
        referenced in such law or, in the absence of specific sources of 
        information, the best available information; and
            ``(3) use the definitions contained in section 1026 in 
        applying this part to the specific provisions of such law.

    ``(c) Exception for Disapproval Bills.--The authority granted by 
subsection (a) shall not apply to any dollar amount of discretionary 
budget authority, item of new direct spending, or limited tax benefit 
contained in any law that is a disapproval bill as defined in section 
1026.

                           ``special messages

    ``Sec. 1022 <<NOTE: Congress. 2 USC 691a.>> . (a) In General.--For 
each law from which a cancellation has been made under this part, the 
President shall transmit a single special message to the Congress.

    ``(b) Contents.--
            ``(1) The special message shall specify--
                    ``(A) the dollar amount of discretionary budget 
                authority, item of new direct spending, or limited tax 
                benefit which has been canceled, and provide a 
                corresponding reference number for each cancellation;
                    ``(B) the determinations required under section 
                1021(a), together with any supporting material;
                    ``(C) the reasons for the cancellation;
                    ``(D) to the maximum extent practicable, the 
                estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the 
                cancellation;
                    ``(E) all facts, circumstances and considerations 
                relating to or bearing upon the cancellation, and to the 
                maximum extent practicable, the estimated effect of the 
                cancellation upon the objects, purposes and programs for 
                which the canceled authority was provided; and
                    ``(F) include the adjustments that will be made 
                pursuant to section 1024 to the discretionary spending 
                limits under section 601 and an evaluation of the 
                effects of those adjustments upon the sequestration 
                procedures of section 251 of the Balanced Budget and 
                Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
            ``(2) In the case of a cancellation of any dollar amount of 
        discretionary budget authority or item of new direct spending, 
        the special message shall also include, if applicable--
                    ``(A) any account, department, or establishment of 
                the Government for which such budget authority was to 
                have been available for obligation and the specific 
                project or governmental functions involved;
                    ``(B) the specific States and congressional 
                districts, if any, affected by the cancellation; and
                    ``(C) the total number of cancellations imposed 
                during the current session of Congress on States and 
                congressional districts identified in subparagraph (B).

    ``(c) Transmission of Special Messages to House and Senate.--
            ``(1) The President shall transmit to the Congress each 
        special message under this part within five calendar days 
        (excluding Sundays) after enactment of the law to which the 
        cancellation applies. Each special message shall be transmitted 
        to the House of Representatives and the Senate on the same 
        calendar day. Such special message shall be delivered to the

[[Page 110 STAT. 1202]]

        Clerk of the House of Representatives if the House is not in 
        session, and to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not 
        in session.
            ``(2) <<NOTE: Federal Register, publication.>>  Any special 
        message transmitted under this part shall be printed in the 
        first issue of the Federal Register published after such 
        transmittal.

               ``cancellation effective unless disapproved

    ``Sec. 1023. <<NOTE: 2 USC 691b.>>  (a) In General.--The 
cancellation of any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, 
item of new direct spending, or limited tax benefit shall take effect 
upon receipt in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the 
special message notifying the Congress of the cancellation. If a 
disapproval bill for such special message is enacted into law, then all 
cancellations disapproved in that law shall be null and void and any 
such dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, item of new direct 
spending, or limited tax benefit shall be effective as of the original 
date provided in the law to which the cancellation applied.

    ``(b) Commensurate Reductions in Discretionary Budget Authority.--
Upon the cancellation of a dollar amount of discretionary budget 
authority under subsection (a), the total appropriation for each 
relevant account of which that dollar amount is a part shall be 
simultaneously reduced by the dollar amount of that cancellation.

                           ``deficit reduction

    ``Sec. 1024. <<NOTE: 2 USC 691c.>>  (a) In General.--
            ``(1) Discretionary budget authority.--OMB shall, for each 
        dollar amount of discretionary budget authority and for each 
        item of new direct spending canceled from an appropriation law 
        under section 1021(a)--
                    ``(A) reflect the reduction that results from such 
                cancellation in the estimates required by section 
                251(a)(7) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
                Control Act of 1985 in accordance with that Act, 
                including an estimate of the reduction of the budget 
                authority and the reduction in outlays flowing from such 
                reduction of budget authority for each outyear; and
                    ``(B) include a reduction to the discretionary 
                spending limits for budget authority and outlays in 
                accordance with the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
                Deficit Control Act of 1985 for each applicable fiscal 
                year set forth in section 601(a)(2) by amounts equal to 
                the amounts for each fiscal year estimated pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A).
            ``(2) Direct spending and limited tax benefits.--(A) OMB 
        shall, for each item of new direct spending or limited tax 
        benefit canceled from a law under section 1021(a), estimate the 
        deficit decrease caused by the cancellation of such item or 
        benefit in that law and include such estimate as a separate 
        entry in the report prepared pursuant to section 252(d) of the 
        Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
            ``(B) OMB shall not include any change in the deficit 
        resulting from a cancellation of any item of new direct spending 
        or limited tax benefit, or the enactment of a disapproval bill 
        for any such cancellation, under this part in the estimates

[[Page 110 STAT. 1203]]

        and reports required by sections 252(b) and 254 of the Balanced 
        Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

    ``(b) Adjustments to Spending Limits.--After ten calendar days 
(excluding Sundays) after the expiration of the time period in section 
1025(b)(1) for expedited congressional consideration of a disapproval 
bill for a special message containing a cancellation of discretionary 
budget authority, OMB shall make the reduction included in subsection 
(a)(1)(B) as part of the next sequester report required by section 254 
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
    ``(c) Exception.--Subsection (b) shall not apply to a cancellation 
if a disapproval bill or other law that disapproves that cancellation is 
enacted into law prior to 10 calendar days (excluding Sundays) after the 
expiration of the time period set forth in section 1025(b)(1).
    ``(d) Congressional Budget Office Estimates.--As soon as practicable 
after the President makes a cancellation from a law under section 
1021(a), the Director of the Congressional Budget Office shall provide 
the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate with an estimate of the reduction of the budget authority and the 
reduction in outlays flowing from such reduction of budget authority for 
each outyear.

      ``expedited congressional consideration of disapproval bills

    ``Sec. 1025. <<NOTE: 2 USC 691d.>>  (a) Receipt and Referral of 
Special Message.--Each special message transmitted under this part shall 
be referred to the Committee on the Budget and the appropriate committee 
or committees of the Senate and the Committee on the Budget and the 
appropriate committee or committees of the House of Representatives. 
Each such message shall be printed as a document of the House of 
Representatives.

    ``(b) Time Period for Expedited Procedures.--
            ``(1) There shall be a congressional review period of 30 
        calendar days of session, beginning on the first calendar day of 
        session after the date on which the special message is received 
        in the House of Representatives and the Senate, during which the 
        procedures contained in this section shall apply to both Houses 
        of Congress.
            ``(2) In the House of Representatives the procedures set 
        forth in this section shall not apply after the end of the 
        period described in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) If Congress adjourns at the end of a Congress prior to 
        the expiration of the period described in paragraph (1) and a 
        disapproval bill was then pending in either House of Congress or 
        a committee thereof (including a conference committee of the two 
        Houses of Congress), or was pending before the President, a 
        disapproval bill for the same special message may be introduced 
        within the first five calendar days of session of the next 
        Congress and shall be treated as a disapproval bill under this 
        part, and the time period described in paragraph (1) shall 
        commence on the day of introduction of that disapproval bill.

    ``(c) Introduction of Disapproval Bills.--(1) In order for a 
disapproval bill to be considered under the procedures set forth in this 
section, the bill must meet the definition of a disapproval bill and 
must be introduced no later than the fifth calendar day of session 
following the beginning of the period described in subsection (b)(1).

[[Page 110 STAT. 1204]]

    ``(2) In the case of a disapproval bill introduced in the House of 
Representatives, such bill shall include in the first blank space 
referred to in section 1026(6)(C) a list of the reference numbers for 
all cancellations made by the President in the special message to which 
such disapproval bill relates.
    ``(d) <<NOTE: Reports.>>  Consideration in the House of 
Representatives.--(1) Any committee of the House of Representatives to 
which a disapproval bill is referred shall report it without amendment, 
and with or without recommendation, not later than the seventh calendar 
day of session after the date of its introduction. If any committee 
fails to report the bill within that period, it is in order to move that 
the House discharge the committee from further consideration of the 
bill, except that such a motion may not be made after the committee has 
reported a disapproval bill with respect to the same special message. A 
motion to discharge may be made only by a Member favoring the bill (but 
only at a time or place designated by the Speaker in the legislative 
schedule of the day after the calendar day on which the Member offering 
the motion announces to the House his intention to do so and the form of 
the motion). The motion is highly privileged. Debate thereon shall be 
limited to not more than one hour, the time to be divided in the House 
equally between a proponent and an opponent. The previous question shall 
be considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without 
intervening motion. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 
is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order.

    ``(2) After a disapproval bill is reported or a committee has been 
discharged from further consideration, it is in order to move that the 
House resolve into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 
Union for consideration of the bill. If reported and the report has been 
available for at least one calendar day, all points of order against the 
bill and against consideration of the bill are waived. If discharged, 
all points of order against the bill and against consideration of the 
bill are waived. The motion is highly privileged. A motion to reconsider 
the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be 
in order. During consideration of the bill in the Committee of the 
Whole, the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. General 
debate shall proceed, shall be confined to the bill, and shall not 
exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by a proponent and an 
opponent of the bill. The bill shall be considered as read for amendment 
under the five-minute rule. Only one motion to rise shall be in order, 
except if offered by the manager. No amendment to the bill is in order, 
except any Member if supported by 49 other Members (a quorum being 
present) may offer an amendment striking the reference number or numbers 

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