Order Code RL33635
Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals:
History and Current Status
Updated November 21, 2007
Virginia A. McMurtry
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division

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Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals:
History and Current Status
Summary
Conflicting budget priorities of the President and Congress accentuate the
institutional tensions between the executive and legislative branches inherent in the
federal budget process. Impoundment, whereby a President withholds or delays the
spending of funds appropriated by Congress, provides an important mechanism for
budgetary control during budget implementation in the executive branch; but
Congress retains oversight responsibilities at this stage as well. President Bush, like
his recent predecessors, has called for an item veto, or possibly expanded
impoundment authority, to provide him with greater control over federal spending.
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Title X of P.L. 93-344), established
two categories of impoundments: deferrals, or temporary delays in funding
availability; and rescissions, or permanent cancellation of budget authority. With a
rescission, the funds must be made available for obligation unless both houses of
Congress take action to approve the President’s rescission request within 45 days of
“continuous session.”
Consideration of impoundment reform increasingly became joined with that of
an item veto for the President. While Constitutional amendment proposals have not
disappeared (see H.J.Res. 38), many who originally favored an item veto
constitutional amendment turned to expanded rescission authority for the President
as a functionally similar mechanism achievable more easily by statutory change.
The Line Item Veto Act was signed into law on April 9, 1996 (P.L. 104-130),
and it became effective January 1, 1997. Key provisions allowed the President to
cancel any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, any item of new direct
spending, or certain limited tax benefits contained in any law, unless disapproved by
Congress. On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court, in the case of Clinton v. City of
New York, held the law unconstitutional on the grounds that it violated the
presentment clause; in order to grant the President true item veto authority, a
constitutional amendment would be needed (according to the majority opinion).
Measures seeking to provide a constitutional alternative to the 1996 law have
been introduced in each subsequent Congress. In the 109th Congress, the House
passed H.R. 4890, the Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006, by a vote of 247-172.
The Senate Budget Committee favorably reported S. 3521, an omnibus budget
process reform measure containing expedited rescission provisions, but no further
action occurred before the 109th Congress adjourned.
Early in the 110th Congress, two expedited rescission amendments came to the
Senate floor. On January 24, 2007, a vote to invoke cloture on a so-called “item
veto” amendment (S.Amdt. 101) failed. Subsequently, S. 1186 was introduced.
Expedited rescission and item veto measures are also pending in the House,
including H.R. 595, H.R. 689, H.R. 1375, H.R. 1998, H.R. 2084, and H.J.Res. 38.
This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Contents
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Brief History of Impoundment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Controversies Increase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Alternative to an Item Veto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Evolution of Expanded Rescission Proposals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Enactment of the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Developments During the 105th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Initial Court Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Line Item Veto in Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
More Court Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Consideration of Alternatives to the Line Item Veto Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Developments from 1999-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
106th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
107th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
108th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Developments in the 109th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Measures Introduced in the 109th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Developments in the 110th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Measures Introduced in the 110th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment
Proposals: History and Current Status
Background
Debate about the appropriate relationship between the branches in the federal
budget process seems inevitable, given the constitutional necessity of shared power
in this sphere. Under the Constitution, Congress possesses the “power of the purse”
(“No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations
made by law”), but the President enjoys broad authority as the chief executive who
“shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
The Constitution is silent concerning the specifics of a budget system for the
federal government. Informal procedures sufficed for many years. The Budget and
Accounting Act of 1921 (P.L. 67-14) for the first time required the President to
submit a consolidated budget recommendation to Congress. To assist in this task, the
act also created a new agency, the Bureau of the Budget, “to assemble, correlate,
revise, reduce, or increase the estimates of the several departments or
establishments.” In 1970, the budget agency was reconstituted as the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB).1 OMB also plays an important role later in the
budget process when funds are actually spent as appropriations laws are
implemented. Impoundment of funds by the President represents an important
component in this stage of budget execution.
Presidential impoundment actions have sometimes been controversial. The
subject of granting the President item veto authority, akin to that exercised by 43
governors, also has elicited considerable debate. With an item veto, the executive
can delete specific provisions in a piece of legislation presented for signature, and
then proceed to sign the measure into law.2
Brief History of Impoundment
Impoundment includes any executive action to withhold or delay the spending
of appropriated funds. One useful distinction among impoundment actions, which
1 For background on the 1921 law, the Bureau of the Budget, and the creation of OMB, see
Larry Berman, The Office of Management and Budget and the Presidency, 1921-1979
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979); and Frederick C. Mosher, A Tale of Two
Agencies (Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1984). For a brief
introduction to OMB at present, see CRS Report RS21665, Office of Management and
Budget (OMB): A Brief Overview, by Clinton T. Brass.
2 Various statutory alternatives such as expedited rescission are sometimes referred to as
giving the President a “line item veto.” This usage is not technically correct, but serves to
call attention to some functional similarities between the two mechanisms.

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received statutory recognition in the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, focuses on
duration: whether the President’s intent is permanent cancellation of the funds in
question (rescission) or merely a temporary delay in availability (deferral).
Another useful contrast distinguishes presidential deferrals for routine
administrative reasons from deferrals for policy purposes. Virtually all Presidents
have impounded funds in a routine manner as an exercise of executive discretion to
accomplish efficiency in management. The creation of budgetary reserves as a part
of the apportionment process required by the Antideficiency Acts (31 U.S.C.
1511-1519) provided formal structure for such routine impoundments, which
originated with an administrative regulation issued in 1921 by the Bureau of the
Budget and then received a statutory base in 1950.3 Impoundments for policy
reasons, such as opposition to a particular program or a general desire to reduce
spending, whether short-term or permanent, have proved far more controversial.
Controversies Increase. Instances of presidential impoundment date back
to the early nineteenth century, but Presidents typically sought accommodation rather
than confrontation with Congress.4 In the 1950s and 1960s, disputes over the
impoundment authority resulted from the refusal of successive Presidents to fund
certain weapons systems to the full extent authorized by Congress. These
confrontations between the President and Congress revolved around the
constitutional role of Commander-in-Chief and tended to focus on relatively narrow
issues of weapons procurement. President Johnson made broader use of his power
to impound by ordering the deferral of billions of dollars of spending during the
Vietnam war in an effort to restrain inflationary pressures in the economy. While
some impoundments during these periods were motivated by policy concerns, they
typically involved temporary spending delays, with the President acting in
consultation with congressional leaders, so that a protracted confrontation between
the branches was avoided.
Conflict over the use of impoundments greatly increased during the Nixon
Administration and eventually involved the courts as well as Congress and the
President. In the 92nd and 93rd Congresses (1971-1974), the confrontation
intensified as the President sought to employ the tool of impoundment to reorder
national priorities and alter programs previously approved by Congress. Following
President Nixon’s reelection in 1972, the Administration announced major new
impoundment actions affecting a variety of domestic programs. For example, a
moratorium was imposed on subsidized housing programs, community development
activities were suspended, and disaster assistance was reduced. Several farm
programs were likewise targeted for elimination. Perhaps the most controversial of
the Nixon impoundments involved the Clean Water Act funds. Court challenges
3 See Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950, P.L. 81-784, 64 Stat. 2317.
4 For a history of presidential impoundment before 1974, see Louis Fisher, Presidential
Spending Power (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1975), pp. 147-201; and Ralph
S. Abscal and John R. Kramer, “Presidential Impoundment Part I: Historical Genesis and
Constitutional Framework,” Georgetown Law Journal, vol. 62 (July 1974), pp. 1549-1618.

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eventually reached the Supreme Court, which in early 1975 decided the case on
narrower grounds than the extent of the President’s impoundment authority.5
Impoundment Control Act of 1974. During these impoundment conflicts
of the Nixon years, Congress responded not only with ad hoc efforts to restore
individual programs, but also with gradually more restrictive appropriations
language. Arguably, the most authoritative response was the enactment of the
Impoundment Control Act (ICA), Title X of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974.6 As a result of a compromise in conference, the
ICA differentiated deferrals, or temporary delays in funding availability, from
rescissions, or permanent cancellations of designated budget authority, with different
procedures for congressional review and control of the two types of impoundment.7
The 1974 law also required the President to inform Congress of all proposed
rescissions and deferrals and to submit specified information regarding each. The
ICA further required the Comptroller General to oversee executive compliance with
the law and to notify Congress if the President failed to report an impoundment or
improperly classified an action.
The original language allowed a deferral to remain in effect for the period
proposed by the President (not to exceed beyond the end of the fiscal year so as to
become a de facto rescission) unless either the House or the Senate took action to
disapprove it. Such a procedure, known as a one-house legislative veto, was found
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in INS v. Chadha (462 U.S. 919 (1983)). In
May 1986 a federal district court ruled that the President’s deferral authority under
the ICA was inseverable from the one-house veto provision and hence was null; the
lower court decision was affirmed on appeal in City of New Haven v. United States
(809 F.2d 900 (D.C.C. 1987)).
In the case of a rescission, the ICA provided that the funds must be made
available for obligation unless both houses of Congress take action to approve the
rescission request within 45 days of “continuous session” (recesses of more than
three days not counted). In practice, this usually means that funds proposed for
rescission not approved by Congress must be made available for obligation after
about 60 calendar days, although the period can extend to 75 days or longer.
Congress may approve all or only a portion of the rescission request. Congress may
also choose after the 45-day period to rescind funds previously requested for
5 Train v. City of New York, 420 U.S. 35 (1975). For further discussion regarding the role
of the courts in the impoundment disputes during the Nixon Administration, see James P.
Pfiffner, The President, the Budget, and Congress: Impoundment and the 1974 Budget Act
(Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1979), pp. 77-108.
6 P.L. 93-344, 88 Stat. 332. The ICA became effective upon signing of the law on July 12,
1974 . For further discussion of the impoundment conflicts and the legislative history of the
1974 law, see Allen Schick, Congress and Money (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute,
1980), pp. 17-81.
7 According to one account, “Written by the staff members who put together the final
version of budget reform, Title X was a novel combination of the House and Senate versions
of the impoundment control bills.” See Joel Havemann, Congress and the Budget
(Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1978), pp. 178-179.

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rescission by the President. Congress does rescind funds never proposed for
rescission by the President, but such action is not subject to the ICA procedures.
The ICA establishes no procedures for congressional disapproval of a rescission
request during the 45-day period. However, some administrations have voluntarily
followed a policy of releasing funds before the expiration of the review period, if
either the House or the Senate authoritatively indicates that it does not intend to
approve the rescission.
In the fall of 1987, as a component of legislation to raise the limit on the public
debt (P.L. 100-119), Congress enacted several budget process reforms. Section 207
prohibited the practice, sometimes used by Presidents when Congress failed to act on
a rescission proposal within the allotted period, of submitting a new rescission
proposal covering identical or very similar matter. By using such resubmissions, the
President might continue to tie up funds even though Congress, by its inaction, had
already rejected virtually the same proposal. The prohibition against such seriatim
rescission proposals contained in the 1987 law applies for the duration of the
appropriation, so that it may remain in effect for two or more fiscal years. Section
206 of P.L. 100-119 served to codify the decision in the New Haven case, allowing
deferrals to provide for contingencies, to achieve savings made possible through
changes in requirements or efficiency of operations, or as provided in statute. The
ICA as amended no longer sanctions policy deferrals.8
Alternative to an Item Veto
The U.S. Constitution provides that the President may either sign a measure into
law or veto it in its entirety. However, constitutions in 43 states provide for an item
veto (usually confined to appropriation bills), allowing the Governor to eliminate
discrete provisions in legislation presented for signature. Ten states allow the
governor to reduce amounts as well as eliminate items, and seven States have an
“amendatory” veto, permitting the governor to return legislation with specific
suggestions for change.9
The first proposal to provide the President with an item veto was introduced in
1876. President Grant endorsed the mechanism, in response to the growing practice
in Congress of attaching “riders,” or provisions altering permanent law, to
appropriations bills. Over the years many bills and resolutions (mainly proposed
constitutional amendments) have been introduced, but action in Congress on item
veto proposals, beyond an occasional hearing, has been limited. In 1938 the House
approved an item veto amendment to the independent offices appropriations bill by
voice vote, but the Senate rejected the amendment. Contemporary proposals for item
8 “Conference Report on House Joint. Resolution 324,” (H.Rept. 100-313), Congressional
Record, vol. 133, Sept. 21, 1987, p. 24655.
9 See U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, Item Veto: State Experience and its
Application to the Federal Situation, committee print, 99th Cong., 2nd sess., Dec. 1986
(Washington: GPO, 1986), pp. 47-49. Since that compilation was printed, the Maine
Constitution has been amended to grant the governor item veto authority.

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veto are usually confined to bills containing spending authority, although not
necessarily limited to items of appropriation.
In the 101st Congress, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution
held a hearing on proposed constitutional amendments permitting an item veto on
April 11, 1989, and reported two such amendments, without recommendation, on
June 8. S.J.Res. 14 would have allowed the President to veto only selected items in
an appropriations bill, while S.J.Res. 23 would have authorized him to disapprove
or reduce any item of appropriation, excluding legislative branch items. On April 26,
1990, the full Judiciary Committee voted 8-6 to report both measures favorably, but
the report was not filed until September 19, 1990.10
In the 102nd Congress, the House voted on language providing item veto
authority for the President. On June 11, 1992, during debate on H.J.Res. 290,
proposing a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, the House
rejected by vote of 170-258 an amendment by Representative Kyl (H.Amdt. 602).
The Kyl proposal sought to allow the President to exercise item veto authority in
signing any measure containing spending authority (broadly defined), limit total
outlays for a fiscal year to 19% of the gross national product of that year, and require
a three-fifths vote of the Congress to approve any additional funds.11
Some contended that the President already had item veto authority as a part of
his constitutional powers. An article by Stephen Glazier, appearing in the Wall Street
Journal on December 4, 1987, advocated this position. While a minority
interpretation, this view claims some notable supporters.12 The Senate Judiciary
Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on June 15, 1994, to
receive testimony on the subject.
Some continue to believe that a statutory framework (different from the Line
Item Veto Act of 1996) may yet be devised to give the President authority akin to an
item veto without the necessity of a constitutional amendment. One statutory
alternative entails bills incorporating the separate enrollment approach, which
stipulate that each item of an appropriations bill be enrolled as a separate bill. Since
1985 such separate enrollment measures have been introduced repeatedly in the
Senate. The Dole amendment to S. 4 in the 104th Congress, as passed by the Senate
in March 1995 (S.Amdt. 347), incorporated the separate enrollment approach. In the
109th Congress, H.R. 4889 likewise reflects this approach.
10 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution,
Line Item Veto, hearing on S.J.Res. 14, S.J.Res. 23, and S.J.Res. 31, 101st Cong., 1st sess.,
Apr. 11, 1989 (Washington: GPO, 1991); and Line-Item Veto, report to accompany S.J.Res.
14 and S.J.Res. 23, 101st Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 101-466 (Washington: GPO, 1990).
11 See CRS Report RL30223, Presidential Rescission Authority: Efforts to Modify the 1974
Framework, by Virginia A. McMurtry.
12 This interpretation was explored at a symposium held in 1988. See Pork Barrels and
Principles: the Politics of the Presidential Veto, by Charles J. Cooper et al. (Washington:
National Legal Center, 1988).

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Evolution of Expanded Rescission Proposals
Consideration of impoundment reform became increasingly joined with the idea
of an item veto. During the Ford and Carter Administrations, the provisions of the
ICA proved relatively noncontroversial. Dissatisfaction increased during the Reagan
Administration. President Reagan, in his 1984 State of the Union message,
specifically called for a constitutional amendment to grant item veto authority, which
he considered to be a “powerful tool” while Governor of California. In his last two
budget messages, President Reagan included enhanced rescission authority among
his budget process reform proposals. President George H. W. Bush also endorsed the
idea of expanded rescission authority and an item veto for the President. During the
1992 campaign, then-Governor Bill Clinton advocated a presidential item veto, and
he subsequently endorsed enhanced rescission authority. During the 2000 campaign
George W. Bush went on record in support of expanded rescission authority, and as
President, he has repeatedly called for some kind of item veto authority.13
Instead of granting true item veto authority to the President via a constitutional
amendment, efforts came to focus on modifying the framework for congressional
review of rescissions by the President. Legislative activity directed toward granting
the President expanded rescission authority extended over several years. Such
statutory alternatives sometimes have been referred to as giving the President a “line
item veto”; while the nomenclature is not technically correct, it does call attention to
some functional similarities.
In examining impoundment reform legislation, the distinction often has been
drawn between “enhanced” and “expedited” rescission proposals. With enhanced
rescission, the intent is to reverse the “burden of action” and thereby create a
presumption favoring the President. Such proposals usually stipulate that budget
authority identified in a rescission message from the President is to be permanently
canceled unless Congress acts to disapprove the request within a prescribed period.
In contrast, the expedited rescission approach focuses on procedural changes in
Congress to require an up or down vote on certain rescission requests from the
President. Such measures contain expedited procedures to ensure prompt
introduction of a measure to approve the rescission, fast report by committee or
automatic discharge, special limits on floor amendments and debate, and so on.
Under expedited rescission, congressional approval would still be necessary to cancel
the funding, but it would become difficult to ignore proposed rescissions and hence
to reject them by inaction.
Some bills are “hybrids,” reflecting a combination of item veto and rescission
language and sometimes features of both expedited and enhanced approaches to
rescission reform as well. H.R. 2 in the 104th Congress (and ultimately, P.L.
104-130), represented such hybrids.
13 For an examination of ICA rescission proposed by the respective Presidents, see CRS
Report RL33869, Rescission Actions Since 1974: Review and Assessment of the Record, by
Virginia A. McMurtry.

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Toward the end of the 102nd Congress, H.R. 2164, characterized by its
supporters as a compromise rescission reform measure agreeable to most sponsors
of the other measures as well, had over 220 cosponsors. For the first time an
expanded rescission measure received favorable floor action, when H.R. 2164 gained
House approval on October 3, 1992, by vote of 312-97. The measure would have
established procedures for expedited congressional consideration of certain rescission
proposals from the President submitted not later than three days after signing an
appropriations act. Under the measure, the proposed rescission could not reduce a
program below the budget level of the previous year or by more than 25% for new
programs. Funds would have become available after a vote in Congress to reject the
proposed rescission.14
Consideration of expanded rescission bills resumed in the 103rd Congress. On
two separate occasions, the House passed expedited rescission measures.
Meanwhile, on March 25, 1993, the Senate adopted two sense of the Senate
amendments relating to rescission reform as a part of the Budget Resolution for
FY1994. The conference version retained a single sense of the Senate provision in
this regard, stating the “President should be granted line-item veto authority over
items of appropriations and tax expenditures” to expire at the end of the 103rd
Congress. H.Con.Res. 218, the Budget Resolution for FY1995, as adopted in May
1994, also contained sense-of-the-House provisions regarding enactment of certain
budget process legislation, including expedited rescission authority for the
President.15
Enactment of the Line Item Veto Act of 1996
Action on an expanded rescission measure commenced early in the 104th
Congress. This reflected the results of the November midterm elections, which
returned a Republican majority to both the House and Senate. On September 28,
1994, many House Republican Members and candidates signed the Republican
Contract with America, which pledged action on a number of measures, including a
“legislative line item veto,” within the first 100 days, should a Republican majority
be elected.
Hearings began on January 12, 1995, when the Senate Committee on
Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight held a joint hearing on H.R. 2, to give the President legislative line item
veto authority. On January 18, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on
related measures (S. 4, S. 14, and S. 206). The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on
the Constitution held a hearing on January 24 to consider constitutional amendment
proposals. On January 25, the House Committee on Government Reform and
14 CRS Report RL30223, p. 8.
15 Ibid., pp. 9-10.

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Oversight ordered H.R. 2 reported, as amended, and the next day the House Rules
Committee likewise reported a further amended version of H.R. 2.16
House floor consideration of H.R. 2 commenced on February 2, 1995, on the
version of H.R. 2 reported as an amendment in the nature of a substitute, with an
open rule and over 30 amendments pending. The House debated the measure for
three days during which time six amendments were approved and 11 amendments
were rejected, along with a motion to recommit with instructions. On February 6,
1995, the House passed H.R. 2, as amended, by vote of 294-134. The date of passage
had special meaning, as it was the 84th birthday of former President Ronald Reagan,
long a supporter of an item veto for the President.
On February 14, 1995, the Senate Budget Committee held markup on pending
rescission measures. The committee ordered S. 4, as amended, reported without
recommendation, by vote of 12-10. S. 14 was also ordered reported without
recommendation, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute further amended,
by vote of 13-8.17 The committee failed to order reported proposed legislation to
create a legislative item veto by requiring separate enrollment of items in
appropriations bills and targeted tax benefits in revenue bills.
On February 23, 1995, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee held a
hearing on S. 4 and S. 14. There had been a joint hearing with the House
Government Reform and Oversight Committee on January 12, but some Senators on
the committee, including the ranking minority member, maintained that the
additional hearing day was needed because they had been unable to attend in January,
due to competing duties that day on the Senate floor. On March 2, 1995, the
Governmental Affairs Committee held markup, with similar results as occurred in
the Budget Committee: both bills were ordered reported without recommendation.18
S. 4 was ordered reported by voice vote; previously the Stevens amendment to the
Glenn motion to report carried by vote of 9-6. During markup of S. 14, the Pryor
amendment to exempt budget authority for the operations of the Social Security
Administration from expedited rescission was adopted by voice vote. S. 14 was then
ordered reported by vote of 13-2.
16 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Line Item Veto
Act, report to accompany H.R. 2, 104th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept .104-11, part 2 (Washington:
GPO, 1995); and House Committee on Rules, Line Item Veto Act, report to accompany H.R.
2, 104th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 104-11, part 1 (Washington: GPO, 1995).
17 U.S. Senate, Committee on the Budget, Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1995, report to
accompany S. 4, 104th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 104-9 (Washington: GPO, 1995); and Senate
Committee on the Budget, Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1995, report to accompany S.
14, 104th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 104-10 (Washington: GPO, 1995).
18 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Legislative Line Item Veto
Act of 1995, report to accompany S. 4, 104th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 104-13 (Washington:
GPO, 1995); and Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Legislative Line Item Veto
Act of 1995, report to accompany S. 14, 104th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 104-14 (Washington:
GPO, 1995).

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In the Senate, general debate on the subject of item veto began on March 16; it
continued on March 17 and on March 20 until late in the afternoon, when floor
consideration of S. 4 began. The Republican leaders in the Senate reportedly delayed
consideration of legislative line item veto bills in hopes of developing a compromise
measure that supporters of S. 4 and S. 14 could all embrace. The “Republican
compromise” substitute appeared as Dole Amendment No. 347 on March 20; this
substitute amendment incorporated the separate enrollment approach, which seeks
to confer item veto authority by statutory means. During consideration of S. 4 on
March 20, two perfecting amendments added by the Budget Committee were
withdrawn; the provisions so deleted related to procedures for deficit reduction and
to a sunset date for the enhanced rescission authority (both are still found in S. 14).
Floor debate on S. 4 continued on March 21-23. Eight amendments were
adopted by voice vote, including the Dole Amendment itself, providing for separate
enrollment for presentation to the President of each item of any appropriation and
authorization bill or resolution providing direct spending or targeted tax benefits.
The Senate ultimately passed S. 4, with the Dole Amendment in the nature of a
substitute and additional amendments, on March 23, 1995, by vote of 69-29.
The significant differences between the House-passed H.R. 2 (enhanced
rescission approach), and the Senate-passed S. 4 (separate enrollment approach),
needed to be resolved in conference. On May 17, 1995, the House passed S. 4, after
agreeing to strike all after the enacting clause of Senate-passed S. 4 and insert in lieu
the language of the House-passed H.R. 2. The Senate agreed to a conference and
named eighteen conferees on June 20. On August 1, the Senate approved (83-14) a
Dorgan Amendment to H.R. 1905, FY1996 Energy and Water Appropriations, to
express the sense of the Senate that the House Speaker should move immediately to
appoint conferees on S. 4. On September 7, 1995, the Speaker appointed eight House
conferees, after a motion to instruct conferees to make the bill applicable to current
and subsequent fiscal year appropriation measures was agreed to by voice vote.
The conference committee held an initial meeting on September 27, 1995, at
which opening statements were presented, and Representative Clinger was chosen
as conference chairman. The Members present then instructed staff to explore
alternatives for reconciling the two versions. On October 25, 1995, the House agreed
to a motion to instruct the House conferees on S. 4 to insist upon the inclusion of
provisions to require that the bill apply to the targeted tax benefit provisions of any
revenue or reconciliation bill enacted into law during or after FY1995, by vote of
381-44. The conferees met again on November 8, 1996, at which time the House
Republicans on the committee offered a compromise package. Some key elements
included accepting the House approach of enhanced rescission, using the Senate
definition of “item” for possible veto, using compromise language approved by the
Joint Committee on Taxation for defining “targeted tax benefits,” including new
direct spending, accepting Senate “lockbox” language (designed to ensure that any
savings from cancellations could be used only for deficit reduction), and dropping the
Senate sunset proposal.
In his State of the Union message on January 23, 1996, President Clinton urged
Congress to complete action on a line item veto measure, stating “I also appeal to

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CRS-10
Congress to pass the line item veto you promised the American people,”19 but
negotiations apparently remained stalled. Following return from the congressional
recess in February, the pace of conference activity appeared to pick up considerably.
On March 14, 1996, Republican negotiators on the conference committee reported
that they had reached agreement on a compromise version of S. 4, and the conference
report was filed on March 21, 1996.20 Although there was no public conference
meeting for approval, the Republican negotiators obtained the signatures of a
majority of conferees, thus readying the conference report for final action.
The conference substitute reflected compromise between the House and Senate
versions, although the enhanced rescission approach of H.R. 2 rather than the
separate enrollment framework of S. 4 was chosen. As in the November compromise
package, new direct spending and certain targeted tax benefits were subject to the
new authority of the President as well as items of discretionary spending in
appropriation laws. The measure was to take effect on January 1, 1997, absent an
earlier balanced budget agreement, and would terminate on January 1, 2005. The
Senate approved the conference substitute on March 27, 1996, by vote of 69-31, and
the House followed suit on March 28, 1996, by vote of 232-177. President Clinton
signed S. 4 on April 9, 1996.21
The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 (LIVA) amended the Congressional Budget
and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344), to give the President
“enhanced rescission authority” to cancel certain items in appropriations and
entitlement measures and also certain narrowly applicable tax breaks. The act
authorized the President to cancel in whole any dollar amount of discretionary budget
authority (appropriations), any item of new direct spending (entitlement), or limited
tax benefits with specified characteristics, contained in a bill otherwise signed into
law. The cancellation was to take effect upon receipt in the House and Senate of a
special notification message. “Cancellation” in this context meant to prevent from
having legal force; in other words, provisions canceled never were to become
effective unless Congress reversed the action of the President by enacting a
“disapproval bill.” The President was only to exercise the cancellation authority if
he determined that such cancellation would reduce the federal budget deficit and
would not impair essential government functions or harm the national interest; and
then notified the Congress in a special message of any such cancellation within 5
calendar days after enactment of the law providing such amount, item, or benefit.
The act provided 30 days for the expedited congressional consideration of
disapproval bills to reverse the cancellations contained in the special messages
received from the President. Detailed provisions for expedited consideration of the
19 U.S. President (Clinton), “Address Before Joint Session of Congress on the State of the
Union,” Jan. 23, 1996, Public Papers of the Presidents, 1996, vol. I (Washington: GPO,
1997), p. 85.
20 U.S. Congress, Conference Committees, Line Item Veto Act, conference report to
accompany S. 4, 104th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 104-491 (Washington: GPO, 1996).
21 P.L. 104-130, 110 Stat. 1200.

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CRS-11
disapproval bill in the House and Senate were outlined.22 The LIVA also contained
a “lockbox” procedure to help ensure that any savings from cancellations go toward
deficit reduction. This was to be accomplished by binding the new procedures to
existing requirements relating to discretionary spending limits and the PAYGO
requirements of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. To facilitate judicial review,
the act provided for (1) expedited review by the U.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia of an action brought by a Member of Congress or an adversely affected
individual on the ground that any provision of this act violates the Constitution; (2)
review of an order of such Court by appeal directly to the Supreme Court; and (3)
expedited disposition of such matter by the Supreme Court. The act became effective
on January 1, 1997.
Developments During the 105th Congress
During 1997, the first year with the Line Item Veto Act in effect, several
noteworthy developments involved judicial challenges and the first use of the new
authority by President Clinton. In Congress, disapproval bills to overturn the
cancellations by the President were introduced, along with alternative measures for
providing the President with expanded rescission authority, bills to repeal the Line
Item Veto Act, and even a bill to correct an apparent “loophole” in the original Act.
In 1998, there were additional court challenges, with the Supreme Court eventually
striking down the new law as unconstitutional.
Initial Court Decisions
On April 9, 1996 (the same day the Line Item Veto Act was signed by President
Clinton), the National Treasury Employees Union et al. filed a complaint for
declaratory and injunctive relief, challenging the constitutionality of the new law in
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Civil Action No. 96-624). Only
individuals “adversely affected” by the expanded presidential authority, or Members
of Congress, can bring action under the “expedited judicial review” provision in the
law. On July 3, 1996, a federal judge dismissed the case, ruling that the union’s
claims were “too speculative and remote” to provide legal standing under the law.23
On January 2, 1997, the day after the Line Item Veto Act went into effect,
another suit challenging its constitutionality was filed in the same court (referred to
as Byrd v. Raines). The plaintiffs, led by Senator Robert Byrd, now included six
Members of Congress: Senators Byrd, Mark Hatfield, Daniel Moynihan, and Carl
Levin, and Representatives David Skaggs and Henry Waxman. Office of
Management and Budget Director Franklin Raines and Secretary of the Treasury
Robert Rubin were named as defendants, because of their responsibilities for
implementing key aspects of the law. The plaintiffs contended that the act violated
the constitutional requirements of bicameral passage and presentment “by granting
22 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, The Use and Application of the Line Item Veto
Act, committee print, 104th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1997).
23 NTEU v. United States, 929 F.Supp. 484, 488 (D.D.C. 1996).

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CRS-12
to the President, acting alone, the authority to ‘cancel’ and thus repeal provisions of
federal law.”
On January 22, 1997, the Senate by unanimous consent agreed to S.Res. 21 to
direct the Senate Legal Counsel to appear as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the
name of the Senate in the Byrd v. Raines case. During debate on S.Res. 21, Majority
Leader Trent Lott noted that Title VII of the Ethics in Government Act authorized
such action by the Senate in any legal action “in which the powers and
responsibilities of the Congress under the Constitution are placed in issue.”
On March 21, 1997, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson heard
oral arguments in the case of Byrd v. Raines. Less than three weeks later, on April
10, Judge Jackson ruled that the Line Item Veto Act was unconstitutional because it
violated provisions of the Presentment Clause in the Constitution (Article I, Section
7, Cl. 2). His ruling found that compared with permissible delegations in the past,
the Line Item Veto Act, “hands off to the President authority over fundamental
legislative choices.” In so doing, “Congress has turned the constitutional division of
responsibilities for legislating on its head.”24
As already noted, the Line Item Veto Act provided for expedited judicial review,
allowing for appeal of a district court decision directly to the Supreme Court. Such
a request was filed, and on April 23, 1997, the Supreme Court agreed to an
accelerated hearing. The Court heard oral arguments on May 27 and announced its
decision in Raines v. Byrd on June 26, 1997. In a 7-2 decision, the Court held that
the Members of Congress challenging the law lacked legal standing, so the judgment
of the lower court (finding the act unconstitutional) was put aside and the Line Item
Veto Act remained in force. However, the Supreme Court confined its decision to
the technical issue of jurisdiction and refrained from considering the underlying
merits of the case (i.e., whether the Line Item Veto Act was unconstitutional).25
The Line Item Veto in Action
On August 11, 1997, President Clinton exercised his new veto authority for the
first time by transmitting two special messages to Congress, reporting his
cancellation of two limited tax benefit provisions in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
(P.L. 105-34), and one item of direct spending in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997
(P.L. 105-33).26 Both measures had been signed into law on August 5, 1997. The law
24 Byrd v. Raines, 956 F.Supp. 25, 37-38 (D.D.C. 1997).
25 Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811 (1997).
26 The cancellation messages were published in the Federal Register and also as
congressional documents. See Office of Management and Budget “Cancellation Pursuant
to the Line Item Veto Act: Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997,” Federal Register, vol. 62, no. 155,
Aug. 12, 1997, p. 43265; and Message from the President transmitting “A Cancellation of
Two Limited Tax Benefits Contained in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, pursuant to Public
Law 104-130 Sec. 2(a),” 105th Cong., 1st sess., H.Doc. 105-116 (Washington: GPO, 1997).
The Office of the Federal Register, Archives and Records Administration assembled and
continues to sponsor a site with the “History of Line Item Veto Notices,” providing links to
(continued...)

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CRS-13
provided a period of 30 calendar days of session after receipt of a special message
(only days when both the House and Senate are in session count) for Congress to
consider a disapproval bill under expedited procedures.
Upon reconvening in early September, Congress responded quickly to the
President’s cancellations, with the introduction of four disapproval bills. S. 1144 and
H.R. 2436 sought to disapprove the cancellation of the direct spending provision in
P.L. 105-33, transmitted by the President on August 11, 1997, and numbered 97-3,
regarding Medicaid funding in New York. S. 1157 and H.R. 2444 sought to
disapprove the cancellations of two limited tax benefit provisions in P.L. 105-34,
transmitted by the President on August 11, 1997, and numbered 97-1 and 97-2. The
first provision dealt with income sheltering in foreign countries by financial services
companies, and the second involved tax deferrals on gains from the sales of
agricultural processing facilities to farmer cooperatives. A compromise was
apparently reached between the White House and congressional leaders on the
canceled tax benefit provisions; on November 8, 1997, the disapproval bill (H.R.
2444) was tabled in the House, and no further action occurred on S. 1157.
On October 6, 1997, President Clinton exercised the new authority to veto items
in appropriations bills by cancelling 38 projects contained in the FY1998 Military
Construction Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-45). On October 24, the Senate
Appropriations Committee approved S. 1292, with an amendment to exclude two
more of the projects from the disapproval bill, reflecting the wishes of Senators from
the states involved; there was no written report. On October 30, the Senate passed
S. 1292, after the committee amendment was withdrawn, disapproving 36 of the 38
cancellations, by vote of 69-30. On November 8, 1997, the House passed its version
of the disapproval bill, H.R. 2631 (covering all 38 of the cancellations originally in
the President’s message), by vote of 352-64. On November 9, the Senate passed
H.R. 2631 by unanimous consent, precluding the need for conference action, and
clearing the disapproval measure for the President. On November 13, 1997, the
President vetoed H.R. 2631, the first disapproval bill to reach his desk under the
provisions of the 1996 law. The House voted to override on February 5, 1998 (347-
69), and the Senate did likewise on February 25, 1998 (78-20); therefore, the
disapproval bill was enacted over the President’s veto (P.L. 105-159).
(Cancellations under the Line Item Veto Act became effective on the date the special
message from the President was received by the House and Senate, but the
cancellations became null and void if a disapproval bill was enacted.)
On October 14, 1997, President Clinton vetoed 13 projects in the Department
of Defense Appropriations. On October 16, 1997, he used the cancellation authority
on a provision in the Treasury and General Government Appropriations relating to
pension systems for federal employees. On October 17, 1997, the President applied
his veto to eight more projects, this time in the Energy and Water Appropriations
Act. On November 1, 1997, President Clinton exercised his line-item veto authority
26 (...continued)
all 82 of the cancellation notices as they appeared in the Federal Register, along with other
relevant information, available electronically at
[http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/nara004.html].

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CRS-14
in two appropriations acts, canceling seven projects in the VA/HUD measure and
three projects in the Transportation Act. On November 20, 1997, the President
canceled two projects from Interior and five from the Agriculture Appropriations Act.
On December 2, 1997, President Clinton exercised his line-item veto authority for
a final time in one of the 13 annual appropriations acts for FY1998, canceling a
project in the Commerce-Justice-State measure. This action brought the total of
special messages in 1997 to 11, and the total cancellations under the new law to 8227.
More Court Challenges
Once the President used the new authority, other cases were expected to be
brought by parties who could more easily establish standing, having suffered ill
effects directly as a result of the cancellations. On October 16, 1997, two separate
cases challenging the Line Item Veto Act were initiated. A complaint was filed by
the City of New York and other interested parties seeking to overturn the cancellation
of the new direct spending provision affecting Medicaid funding in the Balanced
Budget Act in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (case number
1:97CV02393). On the same day, the National Treasury Employees Union (who had
brought the first suit challenging the new law in the spring of 1996, even before it
became effective), filed another suit in district court, seeking to overturn the veto of
the federal pension provision in the Treasury Appropriations Act (case number
1:97CV02399). On October 21, 1997, a third case, seeking to overturn the
cancellation of the limited tax benefit affecting farm cooperatives, was filed in the
district court by Snake River Potato Growers, Inc. (case number 1:97CV02463). On
October 24, 1997, the cases of the three suits challenging the Line Item Veto Act,
were combined, placed in the random assignment pool, and ultimately reassigned to
Judge Thomas Hogan. On October 28, 1997, NTEU filed an amended complaint,
challenging the specific application of the cancellation authority (as well as the
constitutionality of the law). A hearing on the consolidated case was set for January
14, 1998.
Meanwhile, on December 19, 1997, the Clinton Administration conceded that
the President’s cancellation in October of the federal pension provision exceeded the
authority conveyed in the Line Item Veto Act. On January 6, 1998, Judge Hogan
approved a negotiated settlement in the suit between the Justice Department and the
National Treasury Employees Union and ordered that the previously canceled
pension provision for an open season to switch pension plans be reinstated. The
order found that the President lacked authority to make this cancellation, and so it
was “invalid and without legal force and effect.” The NTEU’s constitutional
challenge was declared moot, but oral arguments for the two remaining parties in the
consolidated case challenging the law’s constitutionality were to proceed.
27 Enactment of P.L. 105-159, already noted, served to disapprove 38 cancellations in the
Military Construction Appropriations Act, and another cancellation was found
impermissible under the law (discussed below). So 43 of the original 82 cancellations were
en force when the Supreme Court overturned the Line Item Veto Act in 1998.

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CRS-15
On January 14, 1998, there was a three-hour hearing before Judge Hogan.
Arguments were presented by attorneys for the Idaho potato farmers group and for
New York City and co-plaintiffs in the cases involving cancellations by the President
in August, 1997, of a limited tax benefit provision and an item of new direct
spending (affecting Medicaid funding). Judge Hogan on February 12, 1998, issued
his ruling, which held the Line Item Veto Act unconstitutional, because it “violates
the procedural requirements ordained in Article I of the United States Constitution
and impermissibly upsets the balance of powers so carefully prescribed by its
Framers.”28 On February 20, 1998, the Justice Department appealed that decision to
the Supreme Court, and on February 27, 1998, the Supreme Court agreed to review
the case.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Clinton v. New York
City on April 27, 1998. Both sides conceded that a true item veto, allowing the
President to sign some provisions and veto others when presented a piece of
legislation, would be unconstitutional. The Solicitor General sought to distinguish
the President’s cancellation of provisions under the Line Item Veto Act from a formal
repeal of the provisions, but several of the Justices seemed skeptical. Another key
argument concerned the matter of delegation and whether the act conveys so much
authority to the President as to violate the separation of powers. The issue of
standing for the two groups of plaintiffs combined in the case also was examined. On
June 25, 1998, the Court rendered its decision, holding the Line Item Veto Act
unconstitutional, because its cancellation provisions were in violation of procedures
set forth in the Constitution’s presentment clause found in Article I, section 7.29
In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court decision there was some
uncertainly regarding how funding for projects canceled under the now
unconstitutional law could be restored. In the view of some, OMB might not be
required to fund projects eliminated from appropriations acts, because the
cancellations in the consolidated case brought before the Supreme Court only
involved limited tax benefit and direct spending provisions. Some suggested that
each affected party might have to sue, as did New York City in the case decided by
the Supreme Court. Although it was widely expected that funding for projects not
explicitly covered by the Supreme Court decision would be restored, three weeks
passed before the Justice Department and OMB determined officially that the funds
were to be released. On July 17, 1998, OMB announced that funds for the remaining
cancellations (those not overturned by previous litigation or the disapproval bill
covering the Military Construction appropriations) would be made available.
Consideration of Alternatives to the Line Item Veto Act
After the President exercised the new authority to cancel items in appropriations
acts, bills were introduced to repeal the Line Item Veto Act. On October 9, 1997,
such a bill was introduced by Representative Skaggs (H.R. 2650, 105th Congress),
28 City of New York v. Clinton, and Snake River Potato Growers, Inc. v. Rubin, 985 F.Supp.
168 (D.D.C. 1998).
29 Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998). The decision is available online at
[http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/97-1374.ZS.html].

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CRS-16
and on October 24, 1997, a similar bill was introduced by Senators Byrd and
Moynihan (S. 1319, 105th Congress).
Shortly after the district court decision in April 1997, expanded rescission
measures were reintroduced in the 105th Congress. On April 15, 1997, H.R. 1321, an
expedited rescission measure similar to that passed by the House in the 103rd
Congress, was introduced, and on the following day, S. 592, a separate enrollment
measure identical to S. 4 as passed by the Senate in the 104th Congress, was
introduced. Joint resolutions proposing an item veto constitutional amendment were
also introduced. Another bill introduced in the fall of 1997, H.R. 2649, combined the
features of H.R. 2650 (repealing the line-item veto) and H.R. 1321 (establishing a
framework for expedited rescission).
On March 11, 1998, the House Rules Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget
Process began two days of hearings on the Line Item Veto Act. Although the
principal focus of the hearing was on the operation of the act during its first year,
there was some consideration of possible alternatives should the law be found
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
On June 25, 1998, the same day the Supreme Court held the Line Item Veto Act
unconstitutional, three more bills were introduced. Two new versions of expedited
rescission (similar but not identical measures), seeking to apply expedited procedures
to targeted tax benefits as well as to rescissions of funding in appropriations
measures, were introduced as H.R. 4174 and S. 2220 (105th Congress). A modified
version of separate enrollment, applicable to authorizing legislation containing new
direct spending, as well as to appropriations measures, was introduced as S. 2221.
Developments from 1999-2004

106th Congress
Upon convening of the 106th Congress in January 1999, measures were again
introduced to propose constitutional amendments giving the President line-item veto
authority (H.J.Res. 9, H.J.Res. 20, H.J.Res. 30, and S.J.Res. 31), and to provide
alternative statutory means for conveying expanded impoundment authority to the
President (S. 100 and S. 139). Subsequently, two expedited rescission bills were
introduced in the House (H.R. 3442 and H.R. 3523).
On July 30, 1999, the House Rules Subcommittee on the Legislative and
Budget Process held a hearing to address the subject, “The Rescissions Process after
the Line Item Veto: Tools for Controlling Spending.” Testimony was received from
the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office, and the
General Accounting Office, as well as from a panel of academic experts.
On March 23, 2000, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution held
a hearing to consider measures proposing a constitutional amendment for an item
veto. Two Members testified in support of H.J.Res 9. A second panel, consisting of
seven outside witnesses, provided various viewpoints. During the presidential

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CRS-17
election campaign in 2000, the topic of expanded rescission authority for the
President received some attention, with both candidates on record in support of such
legislation.
107th Congress
In his budget message transmitted to Congress on February 28, 2001, President
George W. Bush endorsed several budget process reforms, including a call to “restore
the President’s line item veto authority.” In the subsequent discussion, the document
suggested that the constitutional flaw in the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 might be
corrected by linking the line-item veto to retiring the national debt.30 On April 9,
2001, President Bush transmitted to Congress a more detailed budget for FY2002,
without further mention of the line-item veto proposal.
In his budget submission for FY2003, sent to Congress on February 4, 2002,
President Bush again endorsed various proposals for reform of the budget process,
including another try at crafting a line-item veto that could pass constitutional muster.
As described therein, the President’s proposal would restore authority exercised by
Presidents prior to 1974 (and the restrictions imposed by the ICA). Specifically, the
proposal “would give the President the authority to decline to spend new
appropriations, to decline to approve new mandatory spending, or to decline to grant
new limited tax benefits (to 100 or fewer beneficiaries) whenever the President
determines the spending or tax benefits are not essential Government functions, and
will not harm the national interest.”31
In the 107th Congress, two measures proposing an item veto constitutional
amendment were introduced. H.J.Res. 23 sought to allow the President to disapprove
any item of appropriation in any bill. H.J.Res. 24 sought to allow the President to
decline to approve (i.e., to item veto) any entire dollar amount of discretionary budget
authority, any item of new direct spending, or any limited tax benefit. On March 28,
2001, during House consideration of H.Con.Res. 83 (FY2002 budget resolution), a
substitute endorsed by Blue Dog Coalition32 was offered, which contained a sense of
the Congress provision calling for modified line-item veto authority to require
Congressional votes on rescissions submitted by the President; the amendment was
rejected 204-221.
30 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, A Blueprint for New Beginnings: A Responsible
Budget for America’s Priorities (Washington: GPO, 2001), pp. 175-176.
31 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2003 Analytical Perspectives
(Washington: GPO, 2002), pp. 217-218.
32 The Blue Dog Coalition was organized in the 104th Congress as a policy- oriented group
of moderate and conservative Democrats. In the 109th Congress, its 37 members are
geographically diverse, but the group’s nickname reflects some southern ancestry. “Taken
from the South’s longtime description of a party loyalist as one who would vote for a yellow
dog if it were on the ballot as a Democrat, the “Blue Dog” moniker was taken by members
of the coalition because their moderate-to-conservative views had been “choked blue” by
their party in the years leading up to the 1994 election.” See the group’s website at
[http://www.bluedogdems.com/what.html].

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CRS-18
On October 9, 2002, the Congressional Budget Office estimated a total federal
budget deficit of about $157 billion for FY2002, reflecting the largest percentage
drop in revenues in over 50 years and the largest percentage growth in spending on
programs and activities in 20 years. Some hoped that the worsening deficit picture
might stimulate renewed interest in mechanisms thought conducive to spending
control, such as a line-item veto or expanded impoundment authority for the
President.
108th Congress
In his budget submission for FY2004, President Bush repeated his request for
legislation to provide him with a “constitutional line-item veto” to use on “special
interest spending items.” While discussion the previous year had called for applying
savings to debt reduction, the explanation now suggested that all savings from the
line-item veto would be designated for deficit reduction.33
Early in the 108th Congress, H.R. 180, an omnibus budget reform measure, was
introduced, containing provisions for expedited procedures for congressional action
on proposals from the President to rescind budget authority identified as “wasteful
spending” (Section 252). On April 11, 2003, during remarks on a forthcoming
supplemental appropriations conference report, the ranking member of the
Appropriations Committee offered his observations on the demise of the Line Item
Veto Act of 1996.34 On June 16, 2003, H.J.Res. 60, proposing a constitutional
amendment to authorize the line-item veto, was introduced by Representative
Andrews. On November 19, 2003, S.J.Res. 25, proposing a constitutional
amendment and reading, in part, “Congress shall have the power to enact a line-item
veto,” was introduced by Senator Dole.
In his budget submission for FY2005, transmitted February 2, 2004, President
Bush again called for legislation to provide him with a “constitutional line-item veto”
linked to deficit reduction. According to the explanation provided, such a device is
needed to deal with spending or tax provisions benefitting “a relative few which
would not likely become law if not attached to other bills.” The line-item veto
envisioned would give the President authority “to reject new appropriations, new
mandatory spending, or limited grants of tax benefits (to 100 or fewer beneficiaries)
whenever the President determines the spending or tax benefits are not essential
Government priorities.” All savings resulting from the exercise of such vetoes would
go to reducing the deficit.35
In the second session of the 108th Congress, additional budget reform measures
were introduced with provisions that would have granted expedited rescission
33 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2004 Analytical Perspectives
(Washington: GPO, 2003), p. 318.
34 Sen. Robert Byrd, “A Constitutional Emergency Response Fund,” Congressional Record,
daily edition, vol. 149, Apr. 12, 2003, p. S5398.
35 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2005 Analytical Perspectives
(Washington: GPO, 2004), p. 285.

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CRS-19
authority to the President. The budget resolution for FY2005 (S.Con.Res. 95), as
approved by the Senate on March 11, 2004, contained several Sense of the Senate
provisions in Title V. Section 501, relating to budget process reform, called for
enactment of legislation to restrain government spending, including such possible
mechanisms as enhanced rescission or constitutional line-item veto authority for the
President.
A bill in the 108th Congress, H.R. 3800, the Family Budget Protection Act of
2004, contained expedited rescission provisions in Section 311; and H.R. 3925, the
Deficit Control Act of 2004, included such provisions in Section 301. On June 16,
2004, an editorial in the Wall Street Journal endorsed H.R. 3800, offering special
praise for its expedited rescission provisions: “Presidents would have the power of
rescission on line items deemed wasteful, which would then be sent back to Congress
for an expedited override vote.” Further, the editorial stated, the procedures would
preserve Congress’s power of the purse, and might also provide “a deterrent effect
on the porkers.”36 On June 24, 2004, provisions from H.R. 3800 were offered as a
series of floor amendments during House consideration of H.R. 4663, the Spending
Control Act of 2004. An amendment that sought to initiate expedited rescission for
the President to propose the elimination of wasteful spending identified in
appropriations bills was rejected by a recorded vote of 174-237.
On August 3, 2004, the Kerry-Edwards [Democratic Party] plan “to keep
spending in check while investing in priorities and cutting wasteful spending” was
released. Included in the presidential campaign document was a proposal for
expedited rescission authority, whereby the President could sign a bill and then send
back to Congress a list of specific spending items and tax expenditures of which he
disapproved, for an expedited, up-or-down vote.
President Bush reiterated his support for restoring presidential line item veto
authority in his speech to the Republican national convention on September 2, 2004.
At his first post-election news conference, on November 4, 2004, in response to a
question about reducing the deficit, he stated, in part, that the president needed a line
item that “passed constitutional muster,” in order “to maintain budget discipline.” At
a press conference on December 20, 2004, the President again called for line item
veto authority, responding that he had not yet vetoed any appropriations bills,
because Congress had followed up on his requested budget targets; but further
observing, “Now I think the president ought to have the line item veto because within
the appropriations bills there may be differences of opinion [between the executive
branch and Congress] on how the money is spent.”37
36 See “GOP Budget Revolt,” Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2004, pp. A12, A14.
37 Press Conference of President George W. Bush, Dec. 20, 2004. Available electronically
at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/12/20041220-3.html].

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CRS-20
Developments in the 109th Congress
On January 31, 2006, in his State of the Union address, President Bush
reiterated his request for line-item veto authority, noting: “And we can tackle this
problem [of too many special-interest “earmark” projects] together, if you pass the
line-item veto.”38 In his budget submission for FY2006, transmitted February 7,
2005, President Bush called for a “line item veto linked to deficit reduction.”
On March 6, 2006, President Bush sent a draft bill titled the Legislative Line
Item Veto Act of 2006 to Congress,39 and the measure was introduced the next day
(see H.R. 4890 and S. 2381 below). Title notwithstanding, the bills sought to amend
the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) to incorporate a typical expedited
rescission framework, intended through procedural provisions to require an up-or-
down vote on presidential requests to cancel certain previously enacted spending or
tax provisions. Since congressional approval would remain necessary for the
rescissions to become permanent, expedited rescission is generally viewed as a
weaker tool than an item veto. H.R. 4890 and S. 2381, as introduced, also contained
rather novel provisions authorizing the President to withhold funds proposed for
rescission or to suspend execution of items of direct spending for up to 180 days.
These provisions arguably might sanction the return of policy deferrals, originally
provided for in the ICA, subject to a one-house veto, but invalidated by the Chadha
and New Haven decisions, as well as the statutory provisions in P.L. 100-119.40
On March 15, 2006, the House Rules Subcommittee on the Legislative and
Budget Process held a hearing on H.R. 4890. Testimony was received from
Representative Paul Ryan, sponsor of H.R. 4890, and from Representative Jerry
Lewis, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The Deputy Director of
OMB and the Acting Director of CBO also appeared before the subcommittee.41 On
April 27, 2006, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing
on the line item veto and received testimony from Representatives Paul Ryan and
Mark Kennedy; and from two attorneys, Charles J. Cooper in private practice, and
Cristina Martin Firvida of the National Women’s Law Center. On May 2, the Senate
Budget Committee held a hearing on S. 2381; witnesses included Senator Robert
Byrd, Austin Smythe from OMB, Donald Marron from CBO, Louis Fisher from the
Library of Congress, and attorney Charles J. Cooper.
38 U.S. President (George W. Bush), “Address before a Joint Session of the Congress on the
State of the Union,” Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 42, Feb. 6, 2006,
p. 145.
39 President’s message, along with press briefing and fact sheet available electronically at
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060306-5.html].
40 See above, p. 4. For a discussion of possible constitutional issues in measures in the 109th
Congress, see CRS Report RL33365, Line Item Veto: A Constitutional Analysis of Recent
Proposals, by Morton Rosenberg.
41 Hearing testimony available electronically at [http://www.rules.house.gov/legbudg/
hearings/lineitemveto/109_lpb_lineitemveto_index.html].

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The House Budget Committee held two hearings on H.R. 4890, on May 25 and
June 8, 2006. The first day focused on “Line-Item Veto: Perspectives on
Applications and Effects” and featured four witnesses representing private sector
groups, including a former Member and two former congressional aides. The second
hearing concentrated on constitutional issues, with testimony received from Charles
Cooper, Louis Fisher, and Professor Viet D. Dinh from the Georgetown University
Law Center.42
On June 14, the House Budget Committee held markup of H.R. 4890.
Representative Paul Ryan offered a substitute amendment, which was further
amended. An amendment offered by Representative Cuellar to add a sunset
provision, whereby the act would expire after six years, was approved by voice vote.
Also successful was an amendment offered by Representative Neal, as further
amended by Representative McCotter, expressing the sense of Congress regarding
possible abuse of proposed cancellation authority: no President or other executive
official should make any decision for inclusion or exclusion of items in a special
message contingent upon a Members’ vote in Congress. The Ryan substitute, as
amended, was adopted by voice vote. The Committee then voted 24-10 to report the
bill favorably.43
Several amendments offered by minority Members were rejected, generally with
a straight party-line vote. Democrats sought to exempt future changes in Social
Security, Medicare, and veterans’ entitlement programs from possible cancellations
under the LLIVA. Democrats also attempted unsuccessfully to restore pay-as-you-go
budget rules, to strengthen requirements for earmark disclosures, and to facilitate
enforcement of the three-day lay-over rule for appropriations bills before floor votes.
On June 15, the House Rules Committee met to markup H.R. 4890 and voted
8-4 to approve a substitute amendment containing the same version as approved by
the Budget Committee.44 Several changes in the substitute version addressed
concerns with the bill as introduced. For example, in response to concern expressed
over a return to policy deferrals by allowing the President to withhold spending for
up to 180 calendar days, the substitute would allow the President to withhold funds
for a maximum of 90 calendars days (an initial 45 day period, which could be
extended for another 45 days). Submission of special rescission or cancellation
messages by the President would occur only within 45 days of enactment of the
measure, and the President would be limited to submission of five special messages
for each regular act and 10 messages for an omnibus measure. Submission of
duplicative proposals in separate messages would be prohibited.
42 Both hearings available electronically at [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/
budget/index.html].
43 See U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Budget, Legislative Line Item Veto Act of
2006, report to accompany H.R. 4890, 109th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 109-505, part 1
(Washington: GPO, 2006).
44 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006, report
to accompany H.R. 4890, 109th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 109-505, part 2 (Washington: GPO,
2006).

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On the other hand, some changes in the substitute version approved by the
Budget and Rules Committees, and subsequently by the full House, arguably might
be subject to additional critiques. The substitute narrowed the definition of a targeted
tax benefit to a revenue-losing measure affecting a single beneficiary, with the chairs
of the Ways and Means and Finance Committees to identify such provisions. The
definition in H.R. 4890 as introduced referred to revenue-losing measures affecting
100 or fewer beneficiaries, as did the Line Item Veto Act of 1996. The bill as
introduced, however, would have allowed the President to identify the provisions by
default, whereas the 1996 law assigned the duty to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Supporters of the substitute version suggested that it would treat targeted tax benefits
comparably to earmarks in appropriations bills. Critics countered that the new
definition was too narrow, and that few tax benefits would be subject to
cancellation.45
On June 21, the House Rules Committee voted to report H.Res. 886, providing
for the consideration of H.R. 4890, as amended, favorably by a nonrecord vote.46 A
manager’s amendment offered by Representative Paul Ryan was adopted as a part of
the rule for debate. In response to concerns raised by the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, the amendment added clarifying language that any
amounts cancelled which came from a trust fund or special fund would be returned
to the funds from which they were originally derived, rather than revert to the
General Fund. The following day the House took up H.R. 4890, approved the rule
(H.Res. 886) by vote of 228-196, and passed the measure by vote of 247-172.47 A
motion by Representative Spratt to recommit H.R. 4890 to the Budget Committee
with instructions to report it back to the House with an amendment was rejected by
vote of 170-249.
Meanwhile, on June 20, 2006, the Senate Budget Committee marked up S.
3521, the Stop Over Spending Act of 2006, an omnibus budget reform measure
containing provisions for expedited rescission in Title I.48 Minority amendments to
exclude Medicare, Social Security, and Veterans’ Health Programs from possible
rescissions were rejected 10-12 on party-line votes. A manager’s amendment was
adopted by voice vote, which among other things would prohibit the resubmission
of items of direct spending or targeted tax benefits previously rejected by Congress,
but would allow the President to resubmit proposed cancellations if Congress failed
to complete action on them due to adjournment. Whereupon the committee voted 12-
45 For further discussion of different versions and analysis, see CRS Report RL33517,
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006: Background and Comparison of Versions, by
Virginia A. McMurtry.
46 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, Providing for Consideration of H.R. 4890,
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006, report to accompany H.Res. 886, 109th Cong., 2nd
sess., H.Rept. 109-518 (Washington: GPO, 2006).
47 “Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2006,” debate and vote in the House, Congressional
Record, daily edition, vol. 152, June 22, 2006, pp. H4433-41, H4467-93.
48 For further discussion of this bill, see CRS Report RL33547, S. 3521, the Stop Over
Spending Act of 2006: A Brief Summary, by Bill Heniff Jr.

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CRS-23
10 to report S. 3521, as amended, favorably. The report to accompany S. 3521 was
filed on July 14, 2006.49
On June 27, 2006, the President met with some Senators at the White House to
discuss the Legislative Line Item Veto bill, and he subsequently urged that the Senate
act quickly to approve such a measure.50 Despite the White House lobbying effort,
press accounts questioned the likelihood of further Senate action in the 109th
Congress. As reported in a story on July 20, 2006, “Senate Budget Chairman Judd
Gregg, R-NH, all but pronounced the White House’s item veto proposal dead for the
year, telling reporters that the Bush Administration had not worked aggressively
enough to round up the votes.”51 According to a similar story appearing the same
day:
Senate Budget Chairman Judd Gregg, R-NH, conceded this week that his budget
overhaul package (S. 3521), which includes a sunset commission, line-item
rescission authority and other budget enforcement measures has little chance of
passage. Supporters have been unable to overcome Democratic opposition and
a reluctance among some Republicans to address it in an election year.52
In addition to the alternative of possible action on S. 3521, the Senate could
have chosen to consider a stand alone item veto measure, such as H.R. 4890, as
passed by the House, or S. 2381. A news story published shortly before Congress
departed for the August recess suggested that the issue remained an open question:
“Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN, has made no decisions about timing or
which [line item rescission measure] to bring up, and is taking a wait-and-see
approach to the White House lobbying effort.”53 None of these bills, however, saw
floor action in the Senate before the 109th Congress adjourned.
Measures Introduced in the 109th Congress
H.R. 982 (Mark Udall). Expedited Rescissions Act of 2005. Amends the ICA
to provide for expedited consideration of certain rescissions of budget authority
proposed by the President. Introduced on February 17, 2005; referred jointly to
Committees on Budget and on Rules.
49 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on the Budget, The Stop Over Spending Act of 2006,
report to accompany S. 3521, 109th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Rept. 109-283 (Washington: GPO,
2006).
50 See White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Fact Sheet: the Legislative Line-Item
Veto: Constitutional, Effective, and Bipartisan,” June 27, 2006, available electronically at
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060627-2.html].
51 Peter Cohn, “Chances Poor for Line-Item Veto Legislation,” Congress Daily AM, July 20,
2006, p. 1.
52 Steven T. Dennis, “White House Casts Lifeline to Try to Rescue Line-Item Rescission
Authority,” CQToday, June 20, 2006, p. 9.
53 Peter Cohn, “Portman Upbeat on Line Item Veto But 60 Votes Still an Elusive Target,”
Congress DailyAM, July 26, 2006, p. 15.

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H.R. 2290 (Hensarling). Family Budget Protection Act. Omnibus budget
reform bill. Section 311 establishes expedited procedures for congressional
consideration of certain rescission proposals from the President. Similar expedited
rescission provisions were considered by the House in 2004 and rejected by vote of
174-237. Introduced on May 11, 2005; referred to the Committee on the Budget and
in addition to the Committees on Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations, and
Government Reform for consideration of those provisions falling within their
respective jurisdictions.
H.R. 4699 (Mark Udall). Stimulating Leadership in Cutting Expenditures
(SLICE) Act of 2006. Amends the ICA to provide for expedited consideration of
certain presidential proposals for rescission of budget authority contained in
appropriation acts or in P.L. 109-59 (omnibus transportation authorization law).
Introduced on February 1, 2006; referred jointly to Committees on Budget and on
Rules.
H.R. 4889 (Gingrey). Separate Enrollment and Line Item Veto Act of 2006.
Requires separate enrollment of each item of appropriation or authorization in
measures passed by both Houses in identical form and provides for congressional
consideration of such bills. (Similar to S. 4 as passed by the Senate on March 23,
1995.) Introduced on March 7, 2006; referred to the Budget Committee.
H.R. 4890 (Paul Ryan)/S. 2381(Frist). Legislative Line Item Veto Act of
2006. Amends the ICA of 1974 to provide for expedited consideration of certain
rescissions of budget authority or cancellation of targeted tax benefits proposed by
the President in special messages. Requires any rescinded discretionary budget
authority or items of direct spending to be dedicated to deficit reduction. Grants the
President authority to withhold funds proposed for rescission or to suspend execution
of direct spending and targeted tax benefits. Both bills introduced on March 7, 2006.
H.R. 4890 referred jointly to Committees on Budget and on Rules; S. 2381 referred
to Budget Committee. Reported favorably, as amended, by House Budget Committee
on June 16 (H.Rept. 109-505 Part 1), and by Rules Committee on June 19, 2006
(H.Rept. 109-505 Part 2). Passed House, as amended, by vote of 247-172 on June
22, 2006.
H.R. 5667 (Spratt). Deficit Reduction and Effective Legislative Line Item
Veto Act of 2006. Amends the ICA of 1974 to provide for expedited consideration
of certain cancellations of discretionary budget authority and targeted tax benefits.
Provides for other budget process reforms. Introduced on June 21, 2006; referred to
Committees on Budget, on Rules, and Standards of Official Conduct.
H.J.Res. 63 (Mark Kennedy). Constitutional amendment. Allows the
President to disapprove an item of appropriation in any bill. Introduced on July 29,
2005; referred to Judiciary Committee.
H.J.Res. 67 (Platts). Constitutional amendment. Allows the President to
decline to approve in whole any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, any
item of new direct spending, or any tax benefit. Introduced on September 21, 2005;
referred to the Judiciary Committee.

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S. 2372 (Kerry). Expedited Budget Item Veto Review Act of 2006. Amends
the ICA to provide for expedited consideration of certain proposed cancellations of
appropriations, new direct spending, and limited tax provisions. Introduced on
March 6, 2006; referred to the Budget Committee.
S. 3521 (Gregg). Stop Over Spending Act of 2006. An omnibus budget reform
bill. Title I, the Legislative Line Item Veto Act, amends the ICA of 1974 to provide
for expedited consideration of certain rescissions of budget authority or cancellation
of targeted tax benefits proposed by the President. Introduced on June 15, 2006;
referred to the Budget Committee. Committee voted 21-10 to report bill, as amended,
favorably on June 20, 2006. Report filed July 14, 2006 (S.Rept. 109-283).
S.J.Res. 26 (Dole). Constitutional amendment. Grants Congress the power to
enact a line-item veto. Introduced on September 27, 2005; referred to the Judiciary
Committee.
Developments in the 110th Congress
Early in the 110th Congress, line item veto measures received Senate floor
consideration. On January 10, 2007, Senator Judd Gregg introduced “The Second
Look at Wasteful Spending Act of 2007”54 as an amendment ( S.Amdt. 17 to S.Amdt.
3 to S. 1) to the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, an ethics
and lobbying reform bill. According to Senator Gregg, the language in S.Amdt. 17
was similar to the expedited rescission provisions contained in a Democratic
amendment, known as the Daschle substitute, offered in 1995 during Senate
consideration of the Line Item Veto Act of 1996.55 The Bush Administration went
on record in support of S.Amdt. 17: “The Administration strongly supports Senator
Gregg’s legislative line item veto amendment — an initiative that is consistent with
the President’s goals.”56
S.Amdt. 17 would have provided for expedited consideration of certain
rescissions of discretionary or new mandatory spending or cancellation of targeted
tax benefits proposed in special messages from the President. The President could
submit up to four rescission packages a year (once with the Budget and three other
times at the President’s choosing). The President could withhold funding contained
in a special message for up to 45 days. The new authority would expire in four years.
At one point, it appeared that the ethics and lobbying reform measure might
become stalled, with the minority leader insisting on a vote on the Gregg amendment
54 For the text of S.Amdt. 17, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153, Jan. 10,
2007, pp. S397-S399. For initial debate on S.Amdt. 17, see ibid., pp.S336-S341.
55 See “Daschle (and Others) Amendment No, 348,” Congressional Record, daily edition,
vol. 141, Mar. 21, 1995, pp. S4281-S4283.
56 “Administration Supports Legislative Line Item Veto Amendment to Senate Bill,” press
release from Office of Management and Budget, Jan. 10, 2007.

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CRS-26
before proceeding to final action on S. 1.57 An agreement was worked out, however,
between the majority leader and the minority leader, with a promise of a vote on the
line item veto amendment during debate on the minimum wage bill (H.R. 2) the
following week. On January 18, 2007, S.Amdt. 17 was withdrawn, and S. 1 passed
by vote of 96-2.58
In accordance with the leadership agreement, Senator Gregg filed another
amendment (S.Amdt. 101 to H.R. 2) on January 22, 2007, and two hours of floor
debate on the line item veto measure ensued.59 Senator Gregg noted “one major
change” in provisions from the previous S.Amdt. 17 incorporated into S.Amdt. 101:
addition of the right to strike. During consideration of a rescission package proposed
by the President, a Senator, with the support of 11 others, could move to strike one
or more of the rescissions included in the bill; in other words, Congress could amend
the President’s proposal by deleting selected items. Senator Gregg suggested that
this change brought S.Amdt. 101 even more in line with the Daschle substitute in
1995. He also observed that several of the 20 cosponsors of the previous Daschle
amendment were still in the Senate.60
Senator Kent Conrad, chair of the Budget Committee, suggested that the two
amendments differed in important respects. The Gregg amendment would allow the
President to propose rescinding items of new direct spending in programs such as
Medicare, whereas the Daschle amendment did not cover such mandatory spending.
The Gregg amendment would permit the President to propose rescissions from
multiple bills in one rescission package whereas the Daschle amendment would
require that a presidential rescission package cover just one bill. According to
Senator Conrad, this latter arrangement would give the President less leverage over
an individual member.61
Debate on S.Amdt. 101 resumed on January 24, 2007. A vote to invoke cloture
on the line item veto amendment failed to attain the necessary 60 votes (49-48).62
The amendment was subsequently set aside, and formally withdrawn on January 31.
In his budget submission for FY2008 transmitted on February 5, 2007,
President Bush once again called for enactment of a line item veto mechanism, such
57 “Senate Debate on Reform Measure Stalls Over Amendment to Provide Line-Item Veto,”
Daily Report for Executives, Jan. 18, 2007.
58 “Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007,” Congressional Record, daily
edition, vol. 153, Jan. 18, 2007, p. S746.
59 For text of S.Amdt. 101, see Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153, Jan. 22, 2007,
pp. S863-S866.
60 Ibid., pp. S792-S793.
61 Ibid., pp. S797-S798.
62 Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153, Jan. 24, 2007, p. S746.

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CRS-27
as the Administration’s proposal from March 2006, that “would withstand
constitutional challenge.”63
Expedited rescission bills have been introduced in the House in the 110th
Congress, along with an item veto constitutional amendment proposal (see below).
On the same day as the cloture motion on the Gregg line item veto proposal failed in
the Senate, Representative Paul Ryan, ranking Republican on the House Budget
Committee, along with 83 cosponsors, introduced H.R. 689, the Legislative Line
Item Veto Act of 2007. H.R. 689 is nearly identical to H.R. 4890 as passed by the
House in the 109th Congress.
On April 23, 2007, companion bills titled the Congressional Accountability and
Line-Item Veto Act were introduced as H.R. 1998 by Representative Paul Ryan, and
as S. 1186 by Senator Russell Feingold. In his introductory remarks, Senator
Feingold sought to differentiate this measure from previous bills, noting the
following:
There have been a number of so-called line-item veto proposals offered in
the past several years. But the measure Congressman Ryan and I propose today
is unique in that it specifically targets the very items that every line-item veto
proponent cites when promoting a particular measure, namely earmarks. When
President Bush asked for this kind of authority, the examples he gave when citing
wasteful spending he wanted to target were congressional earmarks.64
The universe of items subject to rescission or cancellation by the President in
S. 1186 shows noteworthy differences from those contained in the 109th Congress
bills, as passed by the House (H.R. 4890) and reported in the Senate (S. 3521, Title
I). Instead of allowing the President to propose rescission of any amount of
discretionary spending in appropriations acts, et al. (as do the 109th bills), in H.R.
1998/S. 1186 the newly expedited rescission authority only would apply to
“congressional earmarks” (as defined in the bill). The provisions regarding the
cancellation of limited tax benefits seen in H.R. 1998/S. 1186 reflect language both
from the House-passed bill (chairmen of Ways and Means and Finance Committees
to identify them) and Senate-reported version (applicable to any revenue-losing
provisions affecting a single or limited group). Most significantly, perhaps, under
H.R. 1998/S. 1186, the expedited rescission authority would cover no mandatory
spending, but in a departure from provisions in the bills receiving action in the109th
Congress, would apply to limited tariff benefits.
The 110th Congress bills, H.R. 1998 and S. 1186, have some provisions similar
to those seen in one or more bills from the 109th Congress. For example, language
in H.R. 1998/S. 1186 regarding the relationship with the ICA parallels that in the
House-passed version of H.R. 4890, 109th Congress, as does the language regarding
seriatim rescissions, abuse of the proposed cancellation authority, and using any
63 U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Fiscal Year 2008 Analytical Perspectives
(Washington: GPO, 2007), p. 219.
64 Remarks by Senator Feingold accompanying the introduction of S. 1186, Congressional
Record, daily edition, vol. 153, April 23, 2007, p. S4852.

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savings for deficit reduction. The expedited congressional procedures in the 109th,
compared with the 110th, bills are virtually the same.
In most cases, when provisions in H.R. 1998/S. 1186 differ from those in the
109th Congress bills, the new features serve to further confine the boundaries of the
additional rescission authority to be granted the President. The deadline for
submission of special rescissions or cancellation messages under H.R. 1998/S. 1186
would be within 30 days of enactment, compared to 45 days in the House-passed bill
in the 109th Congress and one year in the Senate-reported bill (S. 3521, Title I). In
a similar manner, S. 1186 would set a limit of one special message for each act,
except for an omnibus budget reconciliation or appropriations measure when two
special messages would be allowed.
On the other hand, stipulations regarding deferrals (withholding of spending)
by the President in S. 1186 appear to be less restrictive than those found in the
House-passed and Senate-reported versions in the 109th Congress. Both H.R. 4890
as passed by the House and S. 3521 as reported, allowed withholding for a period not
to exceed 45 calendar days. S. 1186 would permit the President to withhold funding
for designated earmarks or suspend execution of limited tax or tariff benefits for a
period of 45 calendar days of continuous session.65 In addition, S. 1186 would allow
the extension of the withholding for another 45-day period if the President submits
a supplemental message between days 40 and 45 in the original period. Under the
ICA, the President likewise may withhold funds included in a rescission request for
45 calendar days of continuous session, which often equals 60 or more calendar days.
Under the provisions in H.R. 1998/S. 1186, the President could conceivably withhold
funds for 100 days or longer.
As noted already, the original Administration bill in 2006 allowed the President
to withhold funds for 180 calendar days. In 2006, some contended that the 180-day
withholding mechanism arguably might be viewed as sanctioning the return of policy
deferrals, originally provided for in the ICA, subject to a one-house veto, but
invalidated by the Chadha and New Haven decisions, as well as the statutory
provisions in P.L. 100-119.66 The extension of the withholding period in H.R.
1998/S. 1186 conceivably to over 100 days, compared with the 45-calendar-day
period in the House-passed and Senate-reported bills, might arguably be appraised
as representing a de facto return to policy deferrals.
65 S. 1186 contains a definition for “calendar day” as “a standard 24-hour period beginning
at midnight,” but does not define “calendar day of continuous session.” There is a definition
of the “prescribed 45 day period” in the ICA, however, which stipulates “Continuity of a
session of the Congress shall be considered as broken only by an adjournment of the
Congress sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session because of an
adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain shall be excluded from the computation
of the 45-day period.” P.L. 93-344, Sect. 101(5). The phrase “calendar days of continuous
session” generally means that days falling in recesses longer than three days are not counted.
66 For further discussion of policy deferrals, see CRS Issue Brief IB89148, available from
author upon request. For further discussion of possible constitutional issues, see CRS
Report RL33365, Line Item Veto: A Constitutional Analysis of Recent Proposals, by Morton
Rosenberg.

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CRS-29
Measures Introduced in the 110th Congress
H.R. 595 (Mark Udall and Paul Ryan). Stimulating Leadership in Limiting
Expenditures Act of 2006. Amends the ICA to provide for expedited consideration
of certain presidential proposals for rescission of budget authority contained in
appropriation acts. Introduced on January 19, 2007; jointly referred to Committees
on Budget and on Rules.
H.R. 689 (Paul Ryan et al.). Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2007. Amends
the ICA of 1974 to provide for expedited consideration of certain rescissions of
discretionary budget authority or cancellation of an item of new direct spending,
limited tariff benefit, or targeted tax benefits proposed by the President in a special
message. Dedicates any savings only to deficit reduction or increase of a surplus.
Introduced on January 24, 2007; jointly referred to Committees on Budget and on
Rules.
H.R. 1375 (Buchanan). Earmark Accountability and Reform Act of 2007.
Amends the ICA of 1974 to provide for expedited consideration of certain rescissions
of discretionary budget authority or cancellation of an item of new direct spending
or targeted tax benefit proposed by the President in a special message. Dedicates any
cancellation only to deficit reduction or increase of a surplus. Amends House Rules
to provide that any earmark not contained in House- or Senate-passed versions be
deemed out of scope in conference. Introduced on March 7, 2007; referred jointly
to Committees on Budget and on Rules.
H.R. 1998 (Paul Ryan). Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto Act.
Amends the ICA of 1974 to authorize the President to propose in a special message
the repeal of any congressional earmark or the cancellation of any limited tariff
benefit or targeted tax benefit. Provides expedited procedures for congressional
consideration of the proposals contained in special messages. Dedicates any savings
from a repeal or cancellation only to deficit reduction or increase of a surplus.
Introduced on April 23, 2007; referred jointly to Committees on Budget and on
Rules.
H.R. 2084 (Hensarling). Family Budget Protection Act. Omnibus budget
reform bill. Section 311 establishes expedited procedures for congressional
consideration of certain rescission proposals from the President. Similar expedited
rescission provisions were considered by the House in 2004 and rejected by vote of
174-237. Introduced on May 1, 2007; referred to the Committee on the Budget and
in addition to the Committees on Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations, and
Government Reform for consideration of those provisions falling within their
respective jurisdictions.
H.J.Res. 38 (Platts). Constitutional amendment. Allows the President to
decline to approve in whole any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, any
item of new direct spending, or any tax benefit. Introduced on February 27, 2007;
referred to the Judiciary Committee.

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S. 1186 (Feingold). Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto Act.
Companion bill to H.R. 1998 (see above). Introduced on April 23, 2007; referred to
the Budget Committee.

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