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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.