President Trump and congressional Republicans could claw back parts of the just-signed spending bill for fiscal 2018 using a budget tool that has fallen into disuse in recent decades.
Congressional conservatives want Trump to use the 1974 Impoundment Act to rescind some spending authorized by the $1.3 trillion government appropriations bill, and White House officials are weighing doing so.
Congress could approve any spending revocations Trump proposes with a simple majority in both chambers. That allows Republicans more flexibility than in passing the spending bill, a process that was subject to a Democratic filibuster in the Senate and thus required negotiations with Democrats.
A congressional Republican aide said conservatives have been lobbying for Trump to use the Impoundment Act. “It’s a good opportunity to take advantage of a law passed decades ago and that hasn’t been used recently,” the aide said.
An administration official said rescissions are being discussed and that the White House is a few weeks away from developing a package of potential cuts.
The maneuver would effectively allow Trump and congressional Republicans to take back some agency spending that has been authorized as part of the omnibus spending bill, which was negotiated between Republican and Democratic leadership.
While impounding spending might put GOP leaders in a tricky situation, it has the support of conservatives, who have been kicking around the idea for months.
And the idea has been percolating around Washington and the White House in recent days.
In his final radio show Saturday, new Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow kicked around the idea with conservative economic commentator Steve Forbes and Steve Moore. Kudlow met with Trump Monday afternoon for the first time as the director of the White House National Economic Council.
The Impoundment Act became all but forgotten during the Barack Obama and George W. Bush years. But the tool was used frequently during the Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan years, with Congress sometimes rescinding billions of dollars in a year through it.
It was established as part of the larger 1974 budget reforms as a way of curtailing President Richard Nixon’s ability to unilaterally impound funds.
Under the law, the president can propose to rescind funds that have been appropriated by Congress. Congress must approve that rescission within 45 days for it to take effect.
