S. 515 (119th)Bill Overview

A bill to repeal the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

Economics and Public Finance|Budget processCongressional-executive branch relations
Sponsor
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
Feb 11, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageCommittee

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief

This bill repeals the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681 et seq.).

The Act currently limits a President's ability to withhold, delay, or cancel spending that Congress has appropriated and establishes procedures for rescissions and reporting.

Repeal would remove that statutory framework and restore broader executive discretion regarding obligating and spending appropriations, subject to other law and constitutional limits.

Passage25/100

Narrow text but high institutional stakes; repeal changes Congress–executive budget balance and lacks explanatory or mitigating provisions.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention70/100

Progressives emphasize loss of congressional oversight and program risk

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Who this appears to help vs burden50% / 50%
Targeted stakeholdersTargeted stakeholders
Likely helped
  • Targeted stakeholdersIncreases executive flexibility to delay or withhold spending in response to changed circumstances.
  • Targeted stakeholdersEliminates statutory rescission reporting and submission procedures, simplifying executive administrative requirements.
  • Targeted stakeholdersMay allow faster reallocation or pause of expenditures during emergencies or shifting priorities.
Likely burdened
  • Targeted stakeholdersReduces congressional control over appropriations and weakens the power of the purse.
  • Targeted stakeholdersIncreases risk that administrations might arbitrarily withhold funding for programs or recipients.
  • Targeted stakeholdersIs likely to generate litigation over separation of powers and constitutional limits on impoundment.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

Progressives emphasize loss of congressional oversight and program risk
Progressive10%

Sees repeal as weakening congressional oversight and checks on executive power.

Worried it enables unilateral withholding of funds for social and regulatory programs, reducing transparency and accountability.

Likely resistant
Centrist45%

Views the repeal as a substantial procedural change with tradeoffs.

Recognizes need for fiscal control but wants clear rules protecting separation of powers and predictability for agencies.

Split reaction
Conservative80%

Generally favorable: repeal increases executive ability to control spending and restrain growth.

Sees this as a corrective to excessive or permanent appropriations Congress enacts.

Leans supportive
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood25/100

Narrow text but high institutional stakes; repeal changes Congress–executive budget balance and lacks explanatory or mitigating provisions.

Scope and complexity
24%
Scopenarrow
24%
Complexitylow
Why this could stall
  • Absent cost estimate or CBO score
  • How courts would treat repeal versus existing precedents
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

Progressives emphasize loss of congressional oversight and program risk

Narrow text but high institutional stakes; repeal changes Congress–executive budget balance and lacks explanatory or mitigating provisions.

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