Rescission bill

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A rescission bill is a type of bill in the United States that rescinds funding that was previously included in an appropriations bill. Rescission bills proposed by the President of the United States are considered under an expedited process that cannot be filibustered in the Senate, allowing it to pass with 51 votes instead of 60. The procedure was introduced in 1974 as a replacement for impoundment. It was widely used between its introduction and 2000, but has not been attempted since then.

Bill (law) proposed law

A bill is proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act of the legislature, or a statute. Bills are introduced in the legislature and are discussed, debated and voted upon.

In the United States Congress, an appropriations bill is legislation to appropriate federal funds to specific federal government departments, agencies and programs. The money provides funding for operations, personnel, equipment and activities. Regular appropriations bills are passed annually, with the funding they provide covering one fiscal year. The fiscal year is the accounting period of the federal government, which runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. Appropriations bills are under the jurisdiction of the United States House Committee on Appropriations and the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. Both Committees have twelve matching subcommittees, each tasked with working on one of the twelve annual regular appropriations bills.

President of the United States Head of state and of government of the United States

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

Contents

Procedure

The rescission process is described in 2 U.S.C. ch. 17B,subch. II. The process begins with the president submitting a rescission proposal to the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Appropriations. Each committee has 25 days to approve or disapprove the proposal; if a committee takes no action the bill becomes subject to a discharge petition. Each House considers the bill under an expedited procedure that does not allow a filibuster in the Senate. The bill must be passed within 45 days after the original proposal to be enacted, and the budget authority is delayed during these 45 days. [1] [2]

Title 2 of the United States Code outlines the role of Congress in the United States Code.

The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives.

United States Senate Committee on Appropriations Standing committee of the United States Senate

The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate.

In practice, rescission proposals have usually been incorporated into larger appropriations bills considered through the normal process rather than passed as standalone bills using the expedited process. [3] In addition to the presidential rescission procedure, Congress may initiate rescissions as part of a normal appropriations bill. [4] [5]

History

The rescission process was instituted by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. It was replacement for the broad impoundment authority that was removed by the bill. The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987 prohibited repeatedly submitting identical or similar rescission proposals to extend the 45-day window for delaying the budget authority. [3]

Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974

The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is a United States federal law that governs the role of the Congress in the United States budget process.

Impoundment is an act by a President of the United States of not spending money that has been appropriated by the U.S. Congress. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to exercise the power of impoundment in 1801. The power was available to all presidents up to and including Richard Nixon, and was regarded as a power inherent to the office. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 was passed in response to perceived abuse of the power under President Nixon. Title X of the Act removed that power, and Train v. City of New York, closed potential loopholes in the 1974 Act. The president's ability to indefinitely reject congressionally approved spending was thus removed.

Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act

The Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987 were the first binding spending constraints on the federal budget.

Between 1974 and 2000, presidents submitted 1178 rescission proposals totaling $76 billion, of which Congress accepted 461 totaling $25 billion. [4] The last presidential rescission proposal was made for fiscal year 2000 during the Clinton administration. [3] No presidential rescission proposals were requested during the presidencies of George W. Bush or of Barack Obama, [1] [4] although George W. Bush proposed "cancellations" of funding in the 2007 federal budget through a message that did not use the formal presidential rescission procedure. [3]

The United States Federal Budget for Fiscal Year 2000, was a spending request by President Bill Clinton to fund government operations for October 1999-September 2000. Figures shown in the spending request do not reflect the actual appropriations for Fiscal Year 2000, which must be authorized by Congress.

Presidency of Bill Clinton 1993–2001 U.S. presidential administration

The presidency of Bill Clinton began at noon EST on January 20, 1993, when Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive victory over Republican incumbent President George H. W. Bush and Independent businessman Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election. Four years later, in the 1996 election, he defeated Perot and Republican Bob Dole to win re-election. He was succeeded by Republican George W. Bush, who won the 2000 presidential election.

Presidency of George W. Bush the Executive Branch under the 43rd president of the United States, 2001–2009

The presidency of George W. Bush began at noon EST on January 20, 2001, when George W. Bush was inaugurated as the 43rd president of the United States, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican, took office following a very close victory over Democratic incumbent vice president Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. Four years later, in the 2004 election, he defeated Democrat John Kerry to win re-election. Bush, the 43rd president, is the eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush. He was succeeded by Democrat Barack Obama, who won the 2008 presidential election.

In April 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intention to develop a rescission proposal in response to the large funding increases contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which had passed the previous month. [6] [7] The proposal was scaled back, however, after pushback by Congressional leadership to include $15 billion in rescissions mainly targeting funds that were already unspent. In June 2018, the bill, the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act (H.R. 3), passed the House 210–206 but failed in the Senate 48–50. [8] [9]

Donald Trump 45th and current president of the United States

Donald John Trump is the 45th and current president of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 United States Law

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 is a United States omnibus spending bill for the United States federal government for fiscal year 2018 enacted by the 115th United States Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 23, 2018.

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References

  1. 1 2 Hoagland, Bill (2018-04-10). "Rescission, What's That?". Bipartisan Policy Center. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  2. ↑ 2 U.S.C.   § 688
  3. 1 2 3 4 McMurty, Virginia A. (2008-03-14). "Rescission Actions Since 1974: Review and Assessment of the Record". U.S. Congressional Research Service . Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  4. 1 2 3 "Impoundment Control Act: Use and Impact of Rescission Procedures". U.S. Government Accountability Office. 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. ↑ Tollestrup, Jessica (2015-09-02). "Across-the-Board Rescissions in Appropriations Acts: Overview and Recent Practices" (PDF). U.S. Congressional Research Service . Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  6. ↑ Bresnahan, John; Everett, Burgess (2018-04-03). "Trump, McCarthy look to cut billions from budget deal they just passed". Politico. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  7. ↑ DeBonis, Mike (2018-04-09). "Key Senate Republicans warn White House against pursuing spending cuts". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  8. ↑ Bryan, Bob (2018-05-08). "Trump is attempting to use an obscure tactic to cut $15 billion from programs — including children's health insurance". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  9. ↑ Cam, Orhan (2018-06-20). "Senate Rejects Bill to Rescind $15 Billion From Federal Agencies". Government Executive. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
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