Summary: Congress should proceed cautiously in considering proposals for "enhanced rescission"--giving the President authority to rescind enacted budget authority unless expressly disapproved by Congress--because their effect would be to shift significant power to the executive branch in an area that the Constitution reserves for the legislature. Given the relatively small influence that rescissions can have on budgets and deficits of today's magnitude, rescissions cannot be viewed as a major deficit reduction tool. Rather, they should be considered a way for the President and Congress to debate and resolve their differences on specific program cuts. Proposals to change the process, therefore, should take into account possible changes in the relative balance of power between the executive and legislative branches. Enhanced rescission authority would tip the scales toward the presidency. Expedited rescission authority would have a less dramatic effect, but current processes are sufficient, arguably, to ensure congressional consideration of any rescission proposals for which significant support exists in Congress.
