Page
I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................
4
II. Requirements For Use of the Line Item Veto................................................................... 5
A. Targets of the Line Item Veto are carefully defined......................................... 5
B. The President must first sign the legislation................................................... 7
C. There is a time limit......................................................................................... 7
D. The President's special message must contain certain information................ 7
E. A cancellation is effective unless disapproved................................................ 8
F. Savings from cancellations must be used for deficit reduction.......................
8
III. The Congressional Response............................................................................................ 9
A. Congressional referral of the President's special message.............................. 9
B. The format of a disapproval bill is specified.................................................. 10
C. There are restrictions on the use of the expedited procedures......................... 13
D. Consideration in the House.............................................................................. 13
1. Introducing a disapproval bill.............................................................. 14
2. Committee referral and consideration................................................. 14
3. Obtaining House floor consideration.................................................. 14
4. House floor consideration..................................................................... 15
5. Amending the disapproval bill............................................................ 15
6. Voting on a disapproval bill................................................................ 18
E. Consideration in the Senate............................................................................. 18
F. A conference report on a disapproval bill....................................................... 18
G. Consideration of a Presidential veto of a disapproval bill..............................
19
IV. Checklist For Congressional Response in the House.......................................................
20
Figure 3: Chart of Congressional Consideration of a Disapproval
Bill........................... 23
Table 1: Explanations of Steps of Congressional Consideration....................................
25
Regarding the veto power.......
"But the power in question has a further use. It not only
serves as a shield to the executive, but it furnishes an additional
security against the enaction of improper laws. It establishes
a salutary check upon the legislative body, calculated to guard
the community against the effects of faction, precipitancy, or
of any impulse unfriendly to the public good, which may happen
to influence a majority of that body...... The primary inducement
to conferring the power in question upon the executive is to enable
him to defend himself; the secondary one is to increase the chances
in favor of the community against the passing of bad laws, through
haste, inadvertence, or design. The oftener the measure is brought
under examination, the greater the diversity in the situations
of those who are to examine it, the less must be the danger of
those errors which flow from want of due deliberation, or of those
missteps which proceed from the contagion of some common passion
or interest."
Alexander Hamilton, Spring of 1788
The Federalist Papers
Number 73
On April 9, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Line Item
Veto Act of 1996. Public Law 104-130 delegates to the President
carefully defined authority to cancel dollar amounts of discretionary
spending, items of new direct spending, and limited tax benefits.
Its provisions take effect on January 1, 1997, and sunset on December
31, 2004.
The Line Item Veto Act establishes clear boundaries and requirements
for the use of this new authority by the President. It also outlines
expedited legislative procedures for congressional action to disapprove
the President's line item veto.
The Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 already delegates
authority to the President to rescind appropriated funds with
congressional approval. The Line Item Veto Act establishes a new
Part C under Title X which supplements the existing rescission
authority (Part B of Title X) with this new cancellation authority.
The existing rescission authority is based on an approval model
while the new line item veto authority is based on a disapproval
model.
The basic premises behind the Line Item Veto Act are fairly well
understood: 1) to help reduce the federal deficit by providing
the President with the authority to cancel specific spending and
tax provisions within a large bill he has signed into law; and
2) to shift the bias in the legislative process away from spending
and toward saving by requiring congressional disapproval
in order to nullify a President's line item veto. The concept
of the line item veto has long been supported by a majority of
the American people.
Despite the clarity of purpose behind the line item veto, the
mechanics of its implementation are of necessity somewhat more
complicated and are, therefore, less well understood. The federal
budget process is highly technical and involves a delicate balance
between the executive and legislative branches of government.
Much care was taken to ensure that the line item veto is properly
integrated into that process and does not unduly upset that balance.
In addition, while 43 state governors have used some form of the
line item veto, it has never before been used at the federal level.
As a result, Members of Congress, Administration officials, and
the public will all be traveling on new ground as this important
budgetary tool takes effect.
The House Rules Committee played a significant role in crafting
the Line Item Veto Act, exercising its original jurisdiction throughout
the process of House passage and conference with the Senate. In
addition, the Committee intends to provide ongoing oversight over
the application of the line item veto authority. The Committee
presents this document as a guide to the use and application of
the line item veto, with a particular focus on the procedural
requirements of Public Law 104-130. This document addresses the
basic questions pertaining to the operation of the line item veto
and is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of all possible
issues raised by the new law.
II. REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF THE LINE ITEM VETO
A. Targets of the line item veto are carefully defined
The line item veto authority may only be used to cancel,
in whole: 1) dollar amounts of discretionary budget authority;
2) items of new direct spending; and 3) limited tax benefits.
Each of these terms is expressly defined by the Line Item Veto
Act. The line item veto authority is only applicable to laws that
contain one or more provisions falling within the definition of
the three terms. In order to prevent an endless loop, the President
may not use the line item veto authority on any law disapproving
a President's cancellation(s).
Dollar Amount of Discretionary Budget Authority
In defining "dollar amount of discretionary budget authority",
the Line Item Veto Act allows the President to cancel the entire
dollar amount of budget authority specified in an appropriation
law or required to be made available by a specific proviso in
an appropriation law if a specific dollar amount is not included.
For example, in the appropriation law that includes funding for
the Army Corps of Engineers, the statute might require that $1
billion be spent on a dredging project. Alternatively, the statute
might require that a particular dredging project be completed
without specifying the dollar amount necessary. Under the Line
Item Veto Act, the President could cancel the entire funding for
the project in either case.
The President may also cancel an entire dollar amount of budget
authority represented separately in any table, chart or explanatory
text in the statement of managers accompanying the conference
report on an appropriation law. If the statement of managers incorporates
by reference a table, chart or an explanatory text in a related
House or Senate report, the President may cancel an entire dollar
amount detailed in such a chart, table or text in that "governing
report".
In addition, the President may cancel the entire dollar amount
of budget authority required to be made available for a specific
program, project or activity in a law other than an appropriation
law. For example, if a Coast Guard authorization law specifically
requires the purchase of a new particular type of cutter and the
subsequent appropriation law includes a lump sum of funding for
the purchase of all new Coast Guard cutters, then the President
may cancel from that appropriation law the dollar amount necessary
to purchase the particular cutter that was previously mandated
to be purchased. In other words, the President may "look
through" an appropriation law to an underlying statute in
the case where that statute requires that funding for a specific
program, project or activity be made available.
The President may also cancel the entire dollar amount of budget
authority specified by a provision in an appropriation law that
requires the procurement of a specified number of items at a certain
cost. In calculating this amount, the President must estimate
the cost of one such item and multiply it by the number of items
specified. For instance, an appropriation law may include $10
billion for the purchase of a certain type of plane. If so, the
President may cancel the entire dollar amount for those planes.
If the law specifies no dollar amount but requires the purchase
of ten such planes, then the President may also cancel the dollar
amount necessary to carry out that provision.
The express intent of this definition is to provide the President
the ability to cancel entire dollar amounts, even if not specified
as a dollar amount in the appropriation law itself, as long as
the dollar amount can be clearly identified.
The definition of "dollar amount of discretionary budget
authority" specifically excludes any restriction, condition
or limitation in an appropriation law or the accompanying statement
of managers. The cancellation authority may not be used to change,
alter, modify, or terminate any policy included in the law by
Congress, other than by canceling a dollar amount in order to
reduce the federal deficit. Specific examples of what qualifies
as a dollar amount of discretionary budget authority can be found
on pages 30-36 of the conference report on S.4, the Line Item
Veto Act (H. Rept.104-491).
Item of New Direct Spending
In defining "item of new direct spending", the Line Item Veto Act provides the President with the authority to cancel budget authority provided by law (other than an appropriation law), and new entitlement authority, and changes in the food stamp program. The President may only cancel a provision of law that results in an increase in spending relative to the baseline. This does not mean that legislation must result in a net increase in spending in order to be subject to the cancellation authority. A provision of future law that increases direct spending would be subject to the line item veto regardless of whether or not it is offset by another provision that reduces direct spending or increases revenues in the same law. The President may not seek to cancel direct spending that does not lead to an increase in spending nor may he apply the line item veto to previously enacted laws. This primarily applies in cases where Congress is expanding an existing entitlement or creating a new one.
Limited Tax Benefit
The Line Item Veto Act defines the term "limited tax benefit"
as any revenue losing provision amending the Internal Revenue
Code that provides in any fiscal year a Federal tax deduction,
credit, exclusion or preference to 100 or fewer beneficiaries
or a provision that provides transitional relief to 10 or fewer
beneficiaries. In addition, the definition is further narrowed
by listing certain instances in which a provision shall not be
treated as a limited tax benefit. Further, the Line Item Veto
Act directs the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to prepare a
statement in which the JCT will apply the definition of "limited
tax benefit" to qualifying provisions in tax and reconciliation
bills. The Act further provides that, if a committee on conference
on a revenue or reconciliation bill includes the statement of
the JCT in the bill, then the President may only use the line
item veto authority to cancel provisions that have been identified
by the JCT as limited tax benefits. If the committee on conference
does not include the JCT statement in the bill sent to the President,
then the President may use the line item veto authority to cancel
any provision which meets the definition in the Line Item Veto
Act. In this way, the Line Item Veto Act addresses the issue
of who makes the judgment call about what is and what is not a
limited tax benefit subject to the line item veto. The
JCT has developed a committee staff report further detailing what
constitutes a limited tax benefit and the role of the JCT in the
determination process.
B. The President must first sign the legislation
As prescribed by Article I, section 7 of the Constitution, the
President may sign or veto legislation or allow it to become law
without his signature.
If the President wishes to use the line item veto authority to
cancel a spending or tax provision from a law, he must first sign
the legislation. The line item veto authority is not available
to the President for use on legislation that he allows to become
law without his signature or on legislation that becomes law over
his veto.
C. There is a time limit
The Constitution grants the President 10 days (excluding Sundays)
in which to sign or veto legislation.
Use of the line item veto is only available to the President within
5 days of his signature of legislation (excluding Sundays). If
the President chooses to use the line item veto authority, he
must send a special message to both Houses of Congress within
that 5-day period.
D. The President's special message must contain certain
information
The President is required to send Congress a separate special
message for each law from which he seeks to cancel provisions
using the line item veto authority. That special message must
include:
E. A cancellation is effective unless disapproved
Once the Congress has received the President's special message,
the cancellation(s) take effect. The cancellations remain effective
unless a disapproval bill is enacted into law. If a disapproval
bill is enacted into law, the cancellation is nullified, making
the dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, item of new
direct spending, or limited tax benefit effective as of the date
of enactment of the original law from which the cancellation was
made.
F. Savings from cancellations must be used for deficit reduction
The Line Item Veto Act requires the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) to make adjustments to the discretionary spending limits
for budget authority and outlays to reflect cancellations of dollar
amounts of discretionary budget authority. These adjustments of
the spending caps are "locked-in" ten days after the
end of the period provided for the expedited congressional consideration
of a disapproval bill, unless a disapproval bill has been enacted
into law within that time. This type of "lock box" mechanism
ensures that savings - both budget authority and related outlay
reductions - from a cancellation may not be used to fund any other
program. If the cancellation(s) is not disapproved within the
specified time period, the funds are locked away for deficit reduction.
If the cancellation(s) is disapproved, the lockboxed funds are
available for expenditure.
For cancellations of items of new direct spending and limited
tax benefits, the Line Item Veto Act requires OMB to include a
calculation of the deficit decrease resulting from such cancellations
in its required periodic sequestration reports. The decreases
are not, however, reflected on the PAYGO scorecard (a running
account of new revenues and entitlement spending in a fiscal year).
In this way, deficit reduction attributed to the cancellations
may not be used to offset deficit increases attributable to other
actions.
These deficit reduction or "lockbox" procedures are
incorporated into the existing procedures governing discretionary
spending limits and pay-as-you-go requirements under the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act.
III. THE CONGRESSIONAL RESPONSE
While the President is delegated this new, limited authority,
Congress has also created a specific process to review the President's
actions. The Line Item Veto Act establishes certain expedited
procedures for congressional consideration of the items canceled
by the President. Expedited procedures provide a special process
for accelerated congressional consideration of legislation. Congress
has enacted expedited procedures for the consideration of disapproval
bills in the past -- for example, in the War Powers Resolution,
the Trade Act of 1974 and the Arms Control and Disarmament Act.
Consequently, there is precedent for the expedited procedures
contained in the Line Item Veto Act.
In order for the President's cancellation to be overturned, one
of three things must occur: either, 1) a bill disapproving the
President's cancellation must be signed into law; 2) a bill disapproving
the President's cancellations must become law without the President's
signature; or 3) a veto of such a bill must be overridden by the
constitutionally required two-thirds majority of both Houses of
Congress.
A. Congressional referral of the President's special message
When Congress receives a special message, that message is referred
to the Budget Committees of both Houses and the relevant authorizing
or appropriating committees of each House. The special message
is also required to be printed as a document of the House of Representatives
and printed in the Federal Register for public availability.
B. The format of a disapproval bill is specified
In order to qualify as a disapproval bill that is subject to the
expedited procedures under the Line Item Veto Act, a bill disapproving
the President's cancellations must be drafted in a specified manner.
Restrictions also are placed on what may be included in a disapproval
bill in order to minimize any abuse of the expedited procedures
granted these bills. A disapproval bill must be drafted according
to the following structural example:
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
A bill disapproving the cancellations transmitted by the President
on (A) .
M (B) introduced the following bill which was referred
to the Committee (C) in each case for consideration of
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned.
A bill disapproving the cancellations transmitted by the President
on (A) .
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
That Congress disapproves of cancellations (D) as transmitted
by the President in a special message on (E) regarding
(F) .
A disapproval bill must contain the exact title and legislative
language (lines 1-4) as in the example and cannot include anything
else in order to qualify as a disapproval bill eligible for the
expedited procedures. The statute limits the use of the expedited
procedures to only those bills which disapprove any or all of
the President's cancellations. This helps to ensure that matters
outside the scope of the cancellations are not added to a disapproval
bill and that the expedited process granted such disapproval bills
is not subject to abuse or expansion. The lettered blank spaces
refer to specific details regarding the particular special message
by the President. The details are to be filled in the following
manner.
Blank space (A) must be filled in with the date of the transmission
of the relevant special message of the President and the public
law to which the message relates. This is to ensure that the disapproval
bill's title refers to a particular special message of the President
and a particular public law.
Blank space (B) is where the sponsor and any cosponsors of the
disapproval bill are listed. This is the same as current practice
for all other bills introduced in the House.
Blank space (C) is where the committee or committees of jurisdiction
to which the disapproval bill is referred are listed. This also
follows the normal process. The committee is not specified in
this example disapproval bill in order to demonstrate that a disapproval
bill may often be referred to more than one committee depending
on the subject matter of the cancellation. This referral process
is discussed further in the section below entitled "committee
referral and consideration."
Blank space (D) must be filled in with a list by reference number
of one or more cancellations contained in the President's special
message as referenced in the title of the disapproval bill. In
the House, in order to qualify for the expedited procedures, a
disapproval bill must contain a list by reference number of
all of the cancellations contained in the President's
special message. That list may be altered on the floor of the
House during consideration, but in order to qualify for the expedited
procedures, a House disapproval bill when introduced must disapprove
each of the President's cancellations. In the Senate, a disapproval
bill may qualify for the expedited procedures even if it does
not disapprove upon introduction every one of the President's
cancellations.
Blank space (E) must be filled in with the appropriate date of
the transmission of the President's special message. This is similar
to the requirements for inclusion of the date of transmission
in the title of the disapproval bill.
Blank space (F) must be filled in with the public law number to
which the special message relates. Again this is similar to the
requirements for the title.
Furthermore, in order to qualify as a disapproval bill as defined
by the Line Item Veto Act, the bill must only disapprove
one or more Presidential cancellations of dollar amounts of discretionary
budget authority, items of new direct spending or limited tax
benefits contained in a special message by the President.
C. There are restrictions on the use of the expedited procedures
Congress has thirty calendar days of session in which to consider
a disapproval bill under the expedited procedures. A "calendar
day of session" is defined as only those days on which both
the House and the Senate are in session. This definition excludes
periods of recess and adjournment by either House. It is assumed
that Congress will want to act quickly to consider a disapproval
bill and the expedited procedures are intended to provide both
Houses of Congress with the flexibility to schedule consideration
of a disapproval bill during a busy legislative session.
In the House, a disapproval bill may qualify for expedited procedures
only during this thirty calendar days of session time period.
Once the time period expires, the expedited procedures are no
longer operative. In order to be considered by the House after
the 30 day period, the normal House rules would apply. This most
often would involve the Rules Committee granting a special rule
providing for the consideration of a disapproval bill. It should
also be noted that the Rules Committee may at any time, both before
and after the expiration of the thirty calendar days of session,
report a special rule providing for the consideration of the disapproval
bill. Should the House consider a disapproval bill under such
a special rule, the use of the expedited procedures for further
consideration of a disapproval bill relating to the same message
is not allowed.
If a disapproval bill considered by the House under the expedited
procedures is defeated, any subsequent disapproval bill relating
to the same special message of the President is ineligible for
consideration under the expedited procedures. An exception exists
in the case of a need for House consideration of a Senate passed
disapproval bill.
The Senate is not similarly constrained by the time period. In
the Senate, a disapproval bill which began consideration under
these expedited procedures may continue under such procedures
even if the time period expires. In such a case, a special rule
may need to be granted by the Rules Committee for further House
consideration of a disapproval bill.
In the event of a final congressional adjournment before the expiration
of the thirty calendar days of session period, a new disapproval
bill with respect to the same message may be introduced within
the first five calendar days of session of the next Congress and
the thirty calendar days of session period for congressional consideration
would begin anew. This new bill would qualify for the expedited
procedures.
D. Consideration in the House
The Line Item Veto Act establishes expedited procedures specifically
tailored to provide any Member of the House of Representatives
the opportunity to obtain congressional consideration of a bill
disapproving a President's cancellations. However, the procedures
do not guarantee that any one Member can get a floor vote on a
particular cancellation. Allowing 435 Members unchecked access
to floor time would prove quite unwieldy and unmanageable. Nevertheless,
the expedited procedures do provide adequate opportunity for any
Member who can muster a minimum level of support from colleagues
to obtain consideration by the full House. Furthermore, these
expedited procedures in no way prevent the Rules Committee from
aiding a disapproval bill in this process or of altering the manner
in which a disapproval bill is considered on the floor.
1. Introducing a disapproval bill
As was discussed earlier, in order for a disapproval bill to qualify
for the expedited procedures, it must meet the definition and
format of a disapproval bill. However, in the House it must also
meet another requirement. A disapproval bill must also be introduced
in the House no later than the fifth calendar day of session following
the receipt of the President's special message. Any disapproval
bill meeting these two requirements qualifies for expedited consideration.
A disapproval bill introduced after the fifth calendar day of
session would be subject to the normal rules of the House concerning
the consideration of a bill.
2. Committee referral and consideration
Upon introduction, a disapproval bill is referred, subject to
the discretion of the Speaker, to the appropriate committee or
committees of jurisdiction under normal House procedure. For example
a disapproval bill relating to the cancellation of an appropriation
of discretionary budget authority may be referred to the Committee
on Appropriations for consideration. On the other hand, a disapproval
bill relating to the cancellation of an item of new direct spending
involving Medicare may be referred to both the Committee on Ways
and Means and the Committee on Commerce.
A disapproval bill qualifying for expedited procedures is subject
to accelerated committee consideration. Any committee or committees
to which such a disapproval bill has been referred has seven calendar
days of session after the date of the bill's introduction in which
to report the disapproval bill. The committee is not allowed to
amend the disapproval bill but may report it with or without recommendation.
3. Obtaining House floor consideration
A disapproval bill is eligible for House floor consideration under the expedited procedures in two ways. First, the committee or committees of jurisdiction may report the disapproval bill within seven calendar days of session, thereby making it eligible for floor consideration under the expedited procedures.
Second, if a committee or committees to which a disapproval bill
has been referred fails to report the bill within the seven calendar
days of session time period, any Member of the House may move
to discharge the committee or committees from further consideration
of the bill. However, the Member making the motion to discharge
must be in favor of the disapproval bill and can only offer the
motion one calendar day after the day on which that Member declares
to the House his intention to offer such a discharge motion. A
motion to discharge a committee is not in order if that committee
has already reported a disapproval bill with respect to the same
message. In other words, once a committee has reported a disapproval
bill, with or without recommendation, it is not in order for a
Member to seek to discharge another disapproval bill relating
to the same special message. The one day notice requirement is
needed to maintain the majority leadership's ability to set the
daily legislative schedule. This one day notice requirement also
provides all Members of the House with an opportunity to review
the disapproval bill and the issues involved before its actual
consideration.
The motion to discharge is a privileged motion debatable for one
hour equally divided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent.
After completion of debate a vote on the motion occurs without
any intervening motion. After the vote, a motion to reconsider
the vote is not in order. Also, once a motion to discharge a disapproval
bill has been considered by the House and either adopted or rejected,
no other motion to discharge a disapproval bill with respect to
the same message is in order under the expedited procedures. The
House at this point has already declared its position on whether
or not to consider a particular disapproval bill. If the motion
is adopted, the expedited procedures for the affected bill continue.
If the motion is rejected, the expedited procedures become inoperative.
Of course, a special rule can always be granted by the Rules Committee
to grant floor consideration of a disapproval bill.
4. House floor consideration
House floor consideration of a disapproval bill follows a process
similar to that given a bill through a special rule granted by
the Rules Committee. Once a disapproval bill has been discharged
or reported, 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 disapproval bill. If the bill has been reported
and has laid over at least one calendar day prior to its consideration
by the full House then all points of order are waived against
the disapproval bill and against its consideration. This is intended
to provide Members with at least one day between the conclusion
of committee action and floor consideration to review the disapproval
bill. General debate on the disapproval bill is confined to an
hour equally divided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent
of the bill.
5. Amending the disapproval bill
Upon conclusion of general debate, the disapproval bill is considered
as having been read for amendment under the five minute rule.
Only one motion to rise from the Committee of the Whole is allowed
unless that motion is offered by the manager of the bill.
Certain requirements are placed on the amending process. Up to
this point the expedited procedures have not allowed the disapproval
bill to be amended. However, on the House floor the opportunity
for amendment exists. In order to offer an amendment, a Member
must establish that forty-nine other Members of the House support
the amendment, a quorum being present. This process is similar
to that contained in other disapproval procedures and provides
for a "temperature check" to determine whether or not
there is sufficient support to justify the use of House floor
time for consideration of the amendment. If the Member seeking
to offer the amendment cannot muster the required level of support,
that Member may not offer the amendment. If the level of support
is sufficient, the amendment may be debated under the five minute
rule.
It is important to note that restrictions are also placed on the
type of amendments that may be offered. Only amendments to strike
the reference number of a cancellation(s) from a disapproval bill
are in order. This amendment process allows Members wishing to
narrow the focus of the disapproval bill to strike the cancellation(s)
they do not wish to disapprove. Those references they do
wish to disapprove would remain. In other words, this is a process
that allows Members to isolate a specific cancellation for an
up or down vote. Since this is a disapproval process, removing
a reference number from the disapproval bill is tantamount to
agreeing with the President's cancellation of that item.
The expedited procedures protect all allowable amendments from
any further substantive amendment and limit the total time for
the amendment process to one hour, excluding the time for recorded
votes and quorum calls. It is conceivable that the entire hour
of time allowed for amendments could be consumed by the consideration
of only one amendment.
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
A bill disapproving the cancellations transmitted
by the President on January 2, 1997 regarding Public Law 105-1.
Mr. Goss introduced the following bill which was
referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
A bill disapproving the cancellations transmitted
by the President on January 2, 1997 regarding Public Law 105-1.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That Congress disapproves of cancellations #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 as transmitted by the President in a special message on January 2, 1997 regarding Public Law 105-1.
On page 1, line 3 strike the following:
"#1, #2," and "#4,"
{Because this bill (H.R. 100) seeks to qualify for the expedited
procedures, it disapproves each of the President's cancellations
in the special message. This amendment has the effect of approving
the President's cancellations of items #1, #2, and #4, and disapproving
the cancellations of (or seeking the release of funding for) items
#3 and #5.}
February 12, 1997 (11:34 a.m.)
6. Voting on a disapproval bill
At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the
Committee will rise and report the bill back to the House. Amendments
adopted to the disapproval bill in the Committee of the Whole
are still subject to adoption either separately or en bloc in
the House. A motion to reconsider the vote on final passage is
not in order.
It is important to recognize that the Line Item Veto Act is premised
on an enhanced rescission model and so the actual significance
of the final passage vote can be confusing. A vote in favor
of the disapproval bill is a vote to reverse the deficit reduction
the President sought - i.e. to increase spending or allow a limited
tax benefit to take effect. A vote against the disapproval bill
is a vote to agree with the President's cancellation(s).
E. Consideration in the Senate
Expedited procedures for the consideration of a disapproval bill
in the Senate are also provided by the Line Item Veto Act. They
help ensure that a disapproval bill approved by the House will
not get bottled up in the legislative process of the Senate. While
the Senate is quite different from the House in its rules and
procedures, these special procedures provide some degree of assurance
to the House that the Senate will consider a House-passed disapproval.
For a more detailed analysis of the Senate procedures see pages
27-28 of the conference report on S.4 (H.Rept. 104-491).
F. A conference report on a disapproval bill
Due to the different House and Senate expedited procedures for
consideration of a disapproval bill, it is quite possible that
the House and the Senate will not pass the same version of a disapproval
bill and that a conference will be necessary. The expedited procedures
also attempt, to the greatest extent possible, to accelerate the
consideration of a disapproval bill by a committee of conference.
Under the regular order there are no rules governing the conduct
of a conference committee. However, numerous rules in both the
House and Senate govern the floor consideration of a conference
report.
Under the expedited procedures, a conference report on a disapproval
bill can be considered by the House provided the conference report
has been available to the House for at least one day prior. Debate
on the conference report and any amendments in disagreement each
is limited to one hour and is equally divided between a proponent
and an opponent. The conference report may only include those
cancellations which were in either the House version or Senate
version of the disapproval bill or both. A motion to recommit
and a motion to reconsider the vote on final adoption are not
in order. This process is expedited from the regular process in
order to maintain Congress' ability to complete consideration
of the disapproval bill within the thirty calendar day of session
time period.
Upon passage of a conference report on a disapproval bill, the
bill is sent to the President for signature or veto just like
any other bill.
G. Consideration of a Presidential veto of a disapproval
bill
If the President were to veto a disapproval bill, both the House
and the Senate would have to muster a two-thirds majority override
vote to pass the bill as required by Article I, Section 7, Clause
2 of the Constitution. It is presumed that, if the President canceled
the items from the original bill, a bill to disapprove those cancellations
would be vetoed by that same President.
The two-thirds majority override vote is the hammer in the line
item veto process that tilts the scales of the budget and rescissions
process against spending taxpayer dollars and extending limited
tax benefits. Spending money, increasing the deficit, and allowing
limited tax benefits to take effect are likely to be more difficult
to do as a result of the line item veto.
IV. CHECKLIST FOR CONGRESSIONAL RESPONSE IN THE HOUSE
How can a Member reverse a President's line item veto?
-- Be sure it is in the proper form (it must include all cancellations
from the President's special message)
- To qualify for expedited procedures, introduce it within 5 calendar
days of session (days both the House and Senate are in session)
-- If the committee(s) of jurisdiction report(s) within 7 calendar
days of session, a Member may move to bring the bill up on the
floor after one day of layover
-- If the committee(s) of jurisdiction fail(s) to report within
the 7 calendar days of session, a Member may announce his intention
to move to discharge the committee(s) of jurisdiction. That announcement
must occur at least one calendar day prior to the motion
to discharge
-- The only amendments in order on the floor are those that seek
to strike one or more reference numbers for cancellations
from the bill
-- In order to offer an amendment, a Member must secure the support
of 49 of his colleagues, a quorum being present
-- Members may seek to narrow the focus of the disapproval bill
in order to isolate one provision and increase support for the
bill's passage. (Determining how to use the amendment process
is a strategic decision based on a calculation of how best to
disapprove a cancellation of the provision you care most about)
What happens to the canceled provision(s) during this process?
What does a Member's vote mean?
What is the benefit of the expedited procedures?
Step Number Further Explanation of Actions Taken
(1) President signs original appropriation, authorization or reconciliation
bill into law as authorized under Article I of the Constitution.
(2) President cancels "items" in the original bill and
sends Congress a special cancellation message within five calendar
days (excluding Sundays) of the signature of the original bill.
"Items" are defined by the act to only include dollar
amounts of discretionary budget authority, items of new direct
spending or limited tax benefits.
(3) The special message is received by both the House and Senate
on the same day. The special message is referred to the House
Budget Committee and to the appropriate committee (s) of jurisdiction
in the House. The special message is printed as a document of
the House of Representatives. The special message is also printed
in the Federal Register.
(4) The special message is also referred to the Senate Budget
Committee and the appropriate committee (s) of jurisdiction in
the Senate.
(5) The cancellations take effect when the special message of
the President has been received by Congress. The 30 day time clock
for Congressional consideration starts the first calendar day
of session after the date of the President's submission of the
special message. A calendar day of session is a day in which both
the House and the Senate are in session.
(6A) A disapproval bill is introduced after the fifth calendar
day of session and therefore does not qualify for the expedited
procedures. The bill would be subject to the normal House rules
for the consideration of a bill.
(6B) A disapproval bill is introduced no later than the fifth
calendar day of session, in order to qualify for the expedited
procedures and is referred to the appropriate committee (s). The
introduced bill in the House must disapprove all of the cancellations
in the President's message when introduced in order to qualify
for the expedited procedures.
(6C) A disapproval bill is not introduced and the President's
cancellation stands.
Stage Number Further Explanation of Actions Taken
(7) By the seventh calendar day of session after its introduction,
the disapproval bill must be reported without amendment and with
or without recommendation from the committee(s) in order to qualify
for the expedited procedures. Once reported and any report on
such a bill has laid over (for availability) for at least one
day, the bill is eligible for House floor consideration.
(8) One or more of the committees to which the disapproval bill
may choose not to act on the bill.
(9) If a committee or committees do not report the bill within
the specified time period, any Member of the House in support
of the bill may move to discharge those committees from further
consideration of the bill. This motion can only be made one day
after the Member making the motion has announced to the House
that he intends to do so. All points of order are waived against
the motion. The motion is debatable for one hour equally divided
and controlled and is not amendable. Only one motion to discharge
is allowed for floor consideration for each disapproval bill.
For example, if such a motion is defeated, it is not in order
to consider another motion to discharge for that bill.
(10) Once committee(s) have either reported or been discharged
from further consideration, the bill is eligible for consideration
by the House under expedited procedures with certain restrictions.
The bill is debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled.
All points of order are waived against the bill except that relating
to the layover requirement.
(10A) The Line Item Veto Act provides expedited consideration
of the disapproval bill in the Senate. For further details regarding
these procedures consult pages 27-28 of the conference report
on Public Law 104-491.
(10B) The disapproval bill is eligible for amendment on the floor
of the House. The disapproval bill has not been amendable up to
this point in the expedited procedures. Any Member who can demonstrate
the support of 49 other Members, a quorum being present, for an
amendment may offer that amendment. However, amendments to the
bill can only strike a reference number (s) from the disapproval
bill. The bill is read for amendment under the five minute rule
and the entire time period for the amendment process is limited
to 1 hour.
Stage Number Further Explanation of Actions Taken
(11) If the Senate completes consideration of a disapproval bill
and it is different than that passed by the House, there may be
a conference with the Senate to resolve the disagreement. If the
Senate passed version is identical to that passed by the House,
the bill is ready to go to the President for signature.
(12) If there is disagreement between the two houses, a conference
is to be convened promptly.
(13) Consideration of any conference report and any amendment
in disagreement on a disapproval bill is also given expedited
consideration in the House. Such conference reports and amendments
are each debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled.
Upon passage the bill proceeds to the Senate or to the President.
(14) Consideration of any conference report on a disapproval bill
is also given expedited consideration in the Senate. Refer to
page 28 of the conference report on Public Law 104-491 for further
details.
(15) Upon passage of both Houses, the disapproval bill is sent
to the President for signature. The President has the Constitutional
ten calendar days in which to make this decision.
(16) If the President signs the disapproval bill, the disapproved
cancellations do not take effect.
(17) If the President vetoes the disapproval bill, Congress needs
a two-thirds majority of both Houses to override the veto. If
override occurs, the cancellations are nullified. If override
fails, the cancellations remain in effect.