PART B CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED RESCISSIONS, DEFINITIONS SEC. 1011. For purposes of this part (1) "deferral of budget authority" includes― (A) withholding or delaying the obligation or expenditure of budget authority (whether by establishing reserves or otherwise) provided for projects or activities; or (B) any other type of Executive action or inaction which effectively precludes the obligation or expenditure of budget authority, including authority to obligate by contract in advance of appropriations as specifically authorized by law; (2) "Comptroller General" means the Comptroller General of the United States; (3) "rescission bill" means a bill or joint resolution which only rescinds, in whole or in part, budget authority proposed to be rescinded in a special message transmitted by the President under section 1012, and upon which the Congress completes action before the end of the first period of 45 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress after the date on which the President's message is received by the Congress; (4) "impoundment resolution" means a resolution of the House of Representatives or the Senate which only expresses its disapproval of a proposed deferral of budget authority set forth in a special message transmitted by the President under section 1013; and (5) 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 in the computation of the 45-day period referred to in paragraph (3) of this section and in section 1012, and the 25-day periods referred to in sections 1016 and 1017(b) (1). If a special message is transmitted under section 1012 during any Congress and the last session of such Congress adjourns sine die before the expiration of 45 calendar days of continuous session (or a special message is so transmitted after the last session of the Congress adjourns sine die), the message shall be deemed to have been retransmitted on the first day of the succeeding Congress and the 45-day period referred to in paragraph (3) of this section and in section 1012 (with respect to such message) shall commence on the day after such first day. RESCISSION OF BUDGET AUTHORITY SEC. 1012. (a) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MESSAGE. Whenever the 31 USC 1402. President determines that all or part of any budget authority will not be required to carry out the full objectives or scope of programs for which it is provided or that such budget authority should be rescinded for fiscal policy or other reasons (including the termination of authorized projects or activities for which budget authority has been provided), or whenever all or part of budget authority provided for only one fiscal year is to be reserved from obligation for such fiscal year, the President shall transmit to both Houses of Congress a special message specifying 88 STAT. 334 31 USC 1403. Time limita tion. (1) the amount of budget authority which he proposes to be rescinded or which is to be so reserved; (2) any account, department, or establishment of the Government to which such budget authority is available for obligation, and the specific project or governmental functions involved; (3) the reasons why the budget authority should be rescinded or is to be so reserved; (4) to the maximum extent practicable, the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the proposed rescission or of the reservation; and (5) all facts, circumstances, and considerations relating to or bearing upon the proposed rescission or the reservation and the decision to effect the proposed rescission or the reservation, and to the maximum extent practicable, the estimated effect of the proposed rescission or the reservation upon the objects, purposes, and programs for which the budget authority is provided. (b) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION.-Any amount of budget authority proposed to be rescinded or that is to be reserved⚫s set forth in such special message shall be made available for obligation unless, within the prescribed 45-day period, the Congress has completed action on a rescission bill rescinding all or part of the amount proposed to be rescinded or that is to be reserved. DISAPPROVAL OF PROPOSED DEFERRALS OF BUDGET AUTHORITY SEC. 1013. (a) TRANSMITTAL OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.-Whenever the President, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the head of any department or agency of the United States, or any officer or employee of the United States proposes to defer any budget authority provided for a specific purpose or project, the President shall transmit to the House of Representatives and the Senate a special message specifying— (1) the amount of the budget authority proposed to be deferred; (2) any account, department, or establishment of the Government to which such budget authority is available for obligation, and the specific projects or governmental functions involved; (3) the period of time during which the budget authority is proposed to be deferred; (4) the reasons for the proposed deferral, including any legal authority invoked by him to justify the proposed deferral; (5) to the maximum extent practicable, the estimated fiscal, economic, and budgetary effect of the proposed deferral; and (6) all facts, circumstances, and considerations relating to or bearing upon the proposed deferral and the decision to effect the proposed deferral, including an analysis of such facts, circumstances, and considerations in terms of their application to any legal authority and specific elements of legal authority invoked by him to justify such proposed deferral, and to the maximum extent practicable, the estimated effect of the proposed deferral upon the objects, purposes, and programs for which the budget authority is provided. A special message may include one or more proposed deferrals of budget authority. A deferral may not be proposed for any period of time extending beyond the end of the fiscal year in which the special message proposing the deferral is transmitted to the House and the Senate. (b) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION.-Any amount of budget authority proposed to be deferred, as set forth in a special message transmitted under subsection (a), shall be made available for obligation if either House of Congress passes an impoundment resolution disapproving such proposed deferral. (c) EXCEPTION.-The provisions of this section do not apply to any budget authority proposed to be rescinded or that is to be reserved as set forth in a special message required to be transmitted under section 1012. TRANSMISSION OF MESSAGES; PUBLICATION 88 STAT, 335 SEC. 1014. (a) DELIVERY TO HOUSE AND SENATE.-Each special mes- 31 USC 1404. sage transmitted under section 1012 or 1013 shall be transmitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate on the same day, and shall be delivered to the Clerk of the House of Representatives if the House is not in session, and to the Secretary of the Senate if the Senate is not in session. Each special message so transmitted shall be referred to the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each such message shall be printed as a document of each House. Printing as House or Sen ate document. Copy. (b) DELIVERY TO COMPTROLLER GENERAL.-A copy of each special message transmitted under section 1012 or 1013 shall be transmitted to the Comptroller General on the same day it is transmitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate. In order to assist the Congress in the exercise of its functions under sections 1012 and 1013, the Comp- Review. troller General shall review each such message and inform the House of Representatives and the Senate as promptly as practicable with respect to (1) in the case of a special message transmitted under section 1012, the facts surrounding the proposed rescission or the reservation of budget authority (including the probable effects thereof); and (2) in the case of a special message transmitted under section 1013, (A) the facts surrounding each proposed deferral of budget authority (including the probable effects thereof) and (B) whether or not (or to what extent), in his judgment, such proposed deferral is in accordance with existing statutory authority. (c) TRANSMISSION OF SUPPLEMENTARY MESSAGES.-If any information contained in a special message transmitted under section 1012 or 1013 is subsequently revised, the President shall transmit to both Houses of Congress and the Comptroller General a supplementary message stating and explaining such revision. Any such supplementary message shall be delivered, referred, and printed as provided in subsection (a). The Comptroller General shall promptly notify the Notification House of Representatives and the Senate of any changes in the infor- of Congress. mation submitted by him under subsection (b) which may be necessitated by such revision. (d) PRINTING IN FEDERAL REGISTER.-Any special message transmitted under section 1012 or 1013, and any supplementary message transmitted under subsection (c), shall be printed in the first issue of the Federal Register published after such transmittal. (e) CUMULATIVE REPORTS OF PROPOSED RESCISSIONS, RESERVATIONS, AND DEFERRALS of Budget AUTHORITY. (1) The President shall submit a report to the House of Representatives and the Senate, not later than the 10th day of each month during a fiscal year, listing all budget authority for that fiscal year with respect to which, as of the first day of such month 88 STAT. 336 Publication in (A) he has transmitted a special message under section 1012 with respect to a proposed rescission or a reservation; and (B) he has transmitted a special message under section 1013 proposing a deferral. Such report shall also contain, with respect to each such proposed rescission or deferral, or each such reservation, the information required to be submitted in the special message with respect thereto under section 1012 or 1013. (2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be printed in the first issue of the Federal Register published after its submission. 31 USC 1405. gress. REPORTS BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL SEC. 1015. (a) FAILURE TO TRANSMIT SPECIAL MESSAGE.—If the Comptroller General finds that the President, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the head of any department or agency of the United States, or any other officer or employee of the United States (1) is to establish a reserve or proposes to defer budget authority with respect to which the President is required to transmit a special message under section 1012 or 1013; or (2) has ordered, permitted, or approved the establishment of such a reserve or a deferral of budget authority; and that the President has failed to transmit special message with Report to Con- respect to such reserve or deferral, the Comptroller General shall make a report on such reserve or deferral and any available information concerning it to both Houses of Congress. The provisions of this part shall apply with respect to such reserve or deferral in the same manner and with the same effect as if such report of the Comptroller General were a special message transmitted by the President under section 1012 or 1013, and, for purposes of this part, such report shall be considered a special message transmitted under section 1012 or 1013. Report to Congress. 31 USC 1406. Precedence. (b) INCORRECT CLASSIFICATION OF SPECIAL MESSAGE.-If the President has transmitted a special message to both Houses of Congress in accordance with section 1012 or 1013, and the Comptroller General believes that the President so transmitted the special message in accordance with one of those sections when the special message should have been transmitted in accordance with the other of those sections, the Comptroller General shall make a report to both Houses of the Congress setting forth his reasons. SUITS BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL SEC. 1016. If, under section 1012(b) or 1013 (b), budget authority is required to be made available for obligation and such budget authority is not made available for obligation, the Comptroller General is hereby expressly empowered, through attorneys of his own selection, to bring a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to require such budget authority to be made available for obligation, and such court is hereby expressly empowered to enter in such civil action, against any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States, any decree, judgment, or order which may be necessary or appropriate to make such budget authority available for obligation. The courts shall give precedence to civil actions brought under this section, and to appeals and writs from decisions in such 88 STAT. 337 actions, over all other civil actions, appeals, and writs. No civil action Civil actions; shall be brought by the Comptroller General under this section until 25-day waiting the expiration of 25 calendar days of continuous session of the Con- period. gress following the date on which an explanatory statement by the Statement, Comptroller General of the circumstances giving rise to the action filing. contemplated has been filed with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. PROCEDURE IN HOUSE AND SENATE SEC. 1017. (a) REFERRAL.-Any rescission bill introduced with 31 USC 1407. respect to a special message or impoundment resolution introduced with respect to a proposed deferral of budget authority shall be referred to the appropriate committee of the House of Representatives or the Senate, as the case may be. (b) DISCHARGE OF COMMITTEE. (1) If the committee to which a rescission bill or impoundment resolution has been referred has not reported it at the end of 25 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress after its introduction, it is in order to move either to discharge the committee from further consideration of the bill or resolution or to discharge the committee from further consideration of any other rescission bill with respect to the same special message or impoundment resolution with respect to the same proposed deferral, as the case may be, which has been referred to the committee. (2) A motion to discharge may be made only by an individual favoring the bill or resolution, may be made only if supported by one-fifth of the Members of the House involved (a quorum being present), and is highly privileged in the House and privileged in the Senate (except that it may not be made after the committee has reported a bill or resolution with respect to the same special message or the same proposed deferral, as the case may be); and debate thereon shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, the time to be divided in the House equally between those favoring and those opposing the bill or resolution, and to be divided in the Senate equally between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees. An amendment to the motion is not in order, and it is not in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to. (c) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE. (1) When the committee of the House of Representatives has reported, or has been discharged from further consideration of, a rescission bill or impoundment resolution, it shall at any time thereafter be in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill or resolution. The motion shall be highly privileged and not debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to. (2) Debate on a rescission bill or impoundment resolution shall Debate, time be limited to not more than 2 hours, which shall be divided limitation. equally between those favoring and those opposing the bill or resolution. A motion further to limit debate shall not be debatable. In the case of an impoundment resolution, no amendment to, or motion to recommit, the resolution shall be in order. It shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which a recission bill or impoundment resolution is agreed to or disagreed to. |