Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Review of the President's Special Message of September 25, 2026
Highlights
Under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA), the President may transmit to Congress a special message proposing that Congress rescind budget authority. On September 25, 2026, the President transmitted to Congress a special message proposing rescissions from 11 appropriation accounts. The Office of Management and Budget also issued a reapportionment letter for the affected accounts, withholding the amounts proposed for rescission from obligation. We are submitting this letter pursuant to our statutory duty to assist Congress by reviewing the special message.
GAO has previously concluded that the ICA does not permit the withholding of funds past their date of expiration. The plain language of the ICA provides that amounts proposed for rescission must be made available for obligation unless Congress completes action on a bill rescinding them. The legislative history of the ICA, Supreme Court precedent, and the overarching constitutional framework also compel this conclusion.
Therefore, the rescission proposals contained in the President's September 25, 2026, special message to Congress do not permit the President to withhold the appropriations beyond the end of fiscal year 2026. Our conclusion should not be interpreted as taking a position on the policies or programs contained in the special message. Rather, under the ICA, GAO's role is clear—to protect congressional prerogatives and help ensure compliance with federal law. Any withholding of appropriated funds beyond their date of expiration, regardless of size, subverts both the constitutional process for enacting federal law and Congress's constitutional power of the purse. The President may not force the expiration of budget authority Congress has already enacted and did not rescind.
B-338788
September 29, 2026
The Honorable JD Vance
President of the Senate
The Honorable John Thune
Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Senate Minority Leader
The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
House Minority Leader
Subject: Impoundment Control Act of 1974: Review of the President's Special Message of September 25, 2026
Under section 1012 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA), the President may transmit to Congress a special message proposing that Congress rescind budget authority.[1] On September 25, 2026, the President transmitted to Congress a special message proposing rescissions from 11 appropriation accounts.[2] OMB also issued a reapportionment letter for the affected accounts, withholding the amounts proposed for rescission from obligation.[3] We are submitting this letter pursuant to our statutory duty to assist Congress by reviewing the special message.[4]
Where the President properly transmits a special message, the ICA provides a time period for congressional consideration during which an agency may withhold corresponding amounts from obligation.[5] However, the ICA does not allow the President to withhold budget authority through its date of expiration.[6] The Constitution vests in Congress the power of the purse, and Congress did not cede this important power through the ICA. Instead, the terms of the ICA are strictly limited. The ICA permits only the temporary withholding of budget authority and provides that unless Congress rescinds the amounts at issue, they must be made available for obligation. The President cannot rely on the authority in the ICA to withhold amounts from obligation, while simultaneously disregarding the ICA's limitations.[7]
Based on GAO's preliminary review, all 11 accounts implicated by the special message have an assigned Treasury appropriation fund symbol indicating expiration at the end of fiscal year 2026.[8] The period for congressional consideration will end no earlier than November 9, 2026, after the end of fiscal year 2026. [9]
GAO has previously concluded that the ICA does not permit the withholding of funds past their date of expiration, even if the period for congressional consideration has not fully elapsed.[10] The plain language of the ICA provides that amounts proposed for rescission must be made available for obligation unless Congress completes action on a bill rescinding them.[11] The legislative history of the ICA, Supreme Court precedent, and the overarching constitutional framework also compel this conclusion.[12]
As a result, the rescission proposals contained in the President's September 25, 2026, special message to Congress do not permit the President to withhold the appropriations beyond the end of fiscal year 2026. Our conclusion should not be interpreted as taking a position on the policies or programs contained in the special message. Rather, under the ICA, GAO's role is clear—to protect congressional prerogatives and help ensure compliance with federal law. Any withholding of appropriated funds beyond their date of expiration, regardless of size, subverts both the constitutional process for enacting federal law and Congress's constitutional power of the purse. The President may not force the expiration of budget authority Congress has already enacted and did not rescind.[13]
We have enclosed a list of prior GAO work related to the programs at issue in the President's special message. If you have any questions, please contact me at (202) 512-2853 or Shirley Jones, Managing Associate General Counsel at (202) 512-8156.
Edda Emmanuelli Perez
General Counsel
ENCLOSURE
R26-1
GAO-26-107815, Ukraine Funding: HHS Allocation and Oversight of Refugee Assistance
R26-2
R26-3
GAO-26-109097, DHS Grants: Approach to Terminations and Pauses Disrupted Some Program Activities
R26-4
R26-5
R26-6
R26-7
R26-8
R26-9
No relevant GAO work.
R26-10
GAO-11-737R, Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program
R26-11
No relevant GAO work.
[1] Pub. L. No. 93-344, title X, § 1012, 88 Stat. 297, 333–34 (July 12, 1974), codified at 2 U.S.C. § 683.
[2] The special message is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/September-Rescissions-Package-for-Speaker-Johnson_signed-9.25.26.pdf.
[3] Letter from Director, OMB, to the heads of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and other International Assistance programs, Apportionment of Special Message dated September 25, 2026 (Sept. 25, 2026).
[4] ICA, § 1014(b), 2 U.S.C. § 685(b).
[5] ICA, § 1012(b), 2 U.S.C. § 683(b).
[6] See 2 U.S.C. § 683(b) (requiring funds be made available for obligation if Congress does not complete action on a rescission bill within 45 calendar days of continuous congressional session); B‑337805, Sept. 12, 2025; GAO-21-538T, Apr. 29, 2021; B‑330330, Dec. 10, 2018.
[7] B-330330, Dec. 10, 2018.
[8] The special message is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/September-Rescissions-Package-for-Speaker-Johnson_signed-9.25.26.pdf.
[9] The ICA states that some days, such as those during some adjournments, do not contribute to the elapse of the 45-day period. ICA § 1011(5), 2 U.S.C. § 682(5). Therefore, the 45‑day period may require more than 45 calendar days to fully elapse.
[10] See B-330330, Dec. 10, 2018.
[11] Id.
[12] See id.
[13] Because the withholding of these funds so close to the date of their expiration raises such serious concerns, we do not consider here any additional legal issues that the special message may raise.