Congress has periodically given the President statutory authority not to spend appropriated funds. Title X of The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 gave the president the power to both delay the expenditure of funds and to cancel funds, or what was called “rescission authority.” However, to rescind funds, the president needed congressional concurrence within 45 days. However, Congress is not required to vote on these proposals and has ignored most presidential requests to cancel funds.
The Line Item Veto Act of 1996 changed that rescission authority. The Line Item Veto Act put the burden on Congress to disapprove a line-out by the president’s pen. A failure to act meant the president’s veto take effect. Under the 1996 act, Congress had 30 days to override a presidential line item veto. Any such congressional resolution of disapproval, however, was subject to a presidential veto. Thus Congress needed a two-thirds majority in each chamber to override the presidential rescission.
The act was controversial: it delegated new powers to the president, affected the balance between the legislative and executive branches, and changed the budget process.
The day after the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 passed, a group of U.S. senators challenged the bill in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. U.S. District Judge Harry Jackson, who was appointed to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, declared the law unconstitutional on April 10, 1997. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled the senators did not have standing to sue, tossing their challenge and restoring the line item veto power to the president.
The Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011: The Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011 allows the president to recommend specific line items be cut from legislation. But it’s up to Congress to agree under this law. If Congress does not enact the proposed rescission within 45 days, the president must make the funds available, according to the Congressional Research Service.
ME...I CAN’T FIND WHERE THIS ACT EVER PASSED.
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-1996-line-item-veto-act-3368097
The line item veto was passed, but it was held to be unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1998.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_Item_Veto_Act_of_1996