§ 691e. — Definitions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 2USC691e]
TITLE 2--THE CONGRESS
CHAPTER 17B--IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL AND LINE ITEM VETO
SUBCHAPTER III--LINE ITEM VETO
Sec. 691e. Definitions
As used in this subchapter:
(1) Appropriation law
The term ``appropriation law'' means an Act referred to in
section 105 of title 1, including any general or special
appropriation Act, or any Act making supplemental, deficiency, or
continuing appropriations, that has been signed into law pursuant to
Article I, section 7, of the Constitution of the United States.
(2) Calendar day
The term ``calendar day'' means a standard 24-hour period
beginning at midnight.
(3) Calendar days of session
The term ``calendar days of session'' shall mean only those days
on which both Houses of Congress are in session.
(4) Cancel
The term ``cancel'' or ``cancellation'' means--
(A) with respect to any dollar amount of discretionary
budget authority, to rescind;
(B) with respect to any item of new direct spending--
(i) that is budget authority provided by law (other than
an appropriation law), to prevent such budget authority from
having legal force or effect;
(ii) that is entitlement authority, to prevent the
specific legal obligation of the United States from having
legal force or effect; or
(iii) through the food stamp program, to prevent the
specific provision of law that results in an increase in
budget authority or outlays for that program from having
legal force or effect; and
(C) with respect to a limited tax benefit, to prevent the
specific provision of law that provides such benefit from having
legal force or effect.
(5) Direct spending
The term ``direct spending'' means--
(A) budget authority provided by law (other than an
appropriation law);
(B) entitlement authority; and
(C) the food stamp program.
(6) Disapproval bill
The term ``disapproval bill'' means a bill or joint resolution
which only disapproves one or more cancellations of dollar amounts
of discretionary budget authority, items of new direct spending, or
limited tax benefits in a special message transmitted by the
President under this subchapter and--
(A) the title of which is as follows: ``A bill disapproving
the cancellations transmitted by the President on ______'', the
blank space being filled in with the date of transmission of the
relevant special message and the public law number to which the
message relates;
(B) which does not have a preamble; and
(C) which provides only the following after the enacting
clause: ``That Congress disapproves of cancellations ____'', the
blank space being filled in with a list by reference number of
one or more cancellations contained in the President's special
message, ``as transmitted by the President in a special message
on ____'', the blank space being filled in with the appropriate
date, ``regarding ____.'', the blank space being filled in with
the public law number to which the special message relates.
(7) Dollar amount of discretionary budget authority
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term ``dollar
amount of discretionary budget authority'' means the entire dollar
amount of budget authority--
(i) specified in an appropriation law, or the entire dollar
amount of budget authority required to be allocated by a
specific proviso in an appropriation law for which a specific
dollar figure was not included;
(ii) represented separately in any table, chart, or
explanatory text included in the statement of managers or the
governing committee report accompanying such law;
(iii) required to be allocated for a specific program,
project, or activity in a law (other than an appropriation law)
that mandates the expenditure of budget authority from accounts,
programs, projects, or activities for which budget authority is
provided in an appropriation law;
(iv) represented by the product of the estimated procurement
cost and the total quantity of items specified in an
appropriation law or included in the statement of managers or
the governing committee report accompanying such law; or
(v) represented by the product of the estimated procurement
cost and the total quantity of items required to be provided in
a law (other than an appropriation law) that mandates the
expenditure of budget authority from accounts, programs,
projects, or activities for which budget authority is provided
in an appropriation law.
(B) The term ``dollar amount of discretionary budget authority''
does not include--
(i) direct spending;
(ii) budget authority in an appropriation law which funds
direct spending provided for in other law;
(iii) any existing budget authority rescinded or canceled in
an appropriation law; or
(iv) any restriction, condition, or limitation in an
appropriation law or the accompanying statement of managers or
committee reports on the expenditure of budget authority for an
account, program, project, or activity, or on activities
involving such expenditure.
(8) Item of new direct spending
The term ``item of new direct spending'' means any specific
provision of law that is estimated to result in an increase in
budget authority or outlays for direct spending relative to the most
recent levels calculated pursuant to section 907 of this title.
(9) Limited tax benefit
(A) The term ``limited tax benefit'' means--
(i) any revenue-losing provision which provides a Federal
tax deduction, credit, exclusion, or preference to 100 or fewer
beneficiaries under title 26 in any fiscal year for which the
provision is in effect; and
(ii) any Federal tax provision which provides temporary or
permanent transitional relief for 10 or fewer beneficiaries in
any fiscal year from a change to title 26.
(B) A provision shall not be treated as described in
subparagraph (A)(i) if the effect of that provision is that--
(i) all persons in the same industry or engaged in the same
type of activity receive the same treatment;
(ii) all persons owning the same type of property, or
issuing the same type of investment, receive the same treatment;
or
(iii) any difference in the treatment of persons is based
solely on--
(I) in the case of businesses and associations, the size
or form of the business or association involved;
(II) in the case of individuals, general demographic
conditions, such as income, marital status, number of
dependents, or tax return filing status;
(III) the amount involved; or
(IV) a generally-available election under title 26.
(C) A provision shall not be treated as described in
subparagraph (A)(ii) if--
(i) it provides for the retention of prior law with respect
to all binding contracts or other legally enforceable
obligations in existence on a date contemporaneous with
congressional action specifying such date; or
(ii) it is a technical correction to previously enacted
legislation that is estimated to have no revenue effect.
(D) For purposes of subparagraph (A)--
(i) all businesses and associations which are related within
the meaning of sections 707(b) and 1563(a) of title 26 shall be
treated as a single beneficiary;
(ii) all qualified plans of an employer shall be treated as
a single beneficiary;
(iii) all holders of the same bond issue shall be treated as
a single beneficiary; and
(iv) if a corporation, partnership, association, trust or
estate is the beneficiary of a provision, the shareholders of
the corporation, the partners of the partnership, the members of
the association, or the beneficiaries of the trust or estate
shall not also be treated as beneficiaries of such provision.
(E) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ``revenue-losing
provision'' means any provision which results in a reduction in
Federal tax revenues for any one of the two following periods--
(i) the first fiscal year for which the provision is
effective; or
(ii) the period of the 5 fiscal years beginning with the
first fiscal year for which the provision is effective.
(F) The terms used in this paragraph shall have the same meaning
as those terms have generally in title 26, unless otherwise
expressly provided.
(10) OMB
The term ``OMB'' means the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget.
(Pub. L. 93-344, title X, Sec. 1026, as added Pub. L. 104-130,
Sec. 2(a), Apr. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 1207; amended Pub. L. 105-33, title
X, Sec. 10122, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 697.)
Termination of Section
For termination of section by section 5 of Pub. L. 104-130, see
Effective and Termination Dates note set out under section 691 of
this title.
Amendments
1997--Par. (7)(A)(iv). Pub. L. 105-33 substituted ``; or'' for ``;
and''.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 691, 691d, 691f of this
title.
