Editors at National Review Online ask Congress to sign off on the Trump administration’s government efficiency measures.
In a welcome sign of initiative and agency from the legislative branch, some Senate Republicans want spending cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to be part of a rescission package to be approved by Congress. It’s a great idea, and it represents the resurrection of a power Congress should be using more often.
The 1974 law restricting the president’s impoundment power after it was abused by Richard Nixon is called the Impoundment Control Act, not the Impoundment Elimination Act. One of the controls it put in place is a process by which the president can send a request to Congress to rescind budget authority that Congress had previously enacted.
The president lists specific provisions from the budget that he’d like to rescind and gives reasons why. Congress then votes on them. If it approves them, the budget authority is removed and federal agencies aren’t allowed to spend the money any longer.
Ronald Reagan used this power more than any other president. In fiscal year 1981, he proposed 133 rescissions and Congress approved 101 of them, which cut $11 billion from the budget. As a percentage of federal outlays, that would be like cutting over $100 billion today.
George H. W. Bush also used the rescission power to cut spending. One of his rescission packages in 1992 spurred a productive back-and-forth between the House and the Senate. After amendments that included spending cuts the congressional committees came up with, the rescission package passed both chambers with massive majorities.
The rescission power fell into disuse under Bill Clinton. George W. Bush never used it once. Trump tried to use it during his first term but failed because of a lack of coordination with Congress. It’s time to try again.
