§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, §1026, as added Pub. L. 104–130, §2(a), Apr. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 1207 ; amended Pub. L. 105–33, title X, §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.