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What is a Pocket Rescission?

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  |  Updated on 
  |  Updated on 
October 29, 2026

Federal Budget

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The Summary

With the 2026 fiscal year (FY26) coming to a close, you may have heard the term “pocket rescission” in the news recently. This niche budget tactic is rarely attempted, but the debate surrounding it has reignited in recent years. 

Read below to learn more about what pocket rescissions are, the history behind them, and what they mean for you and the federal budget. 

The Federal Budget and Rescissions

Before we jump into pocket rescissions, let’s start with some reminders about the federal budget. 

Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to tax and spend, otherwise known as the “power of the purse.” Before each new fiscal year begins on October 1, Congress is supposed to use this authority to pass government funding bills — or “appropriations bills.”

As with other legislation passed by Congress, the president must either sign or veto these spending bills. When they are signed into law, the executive branch is then responsible for ensuring that funds are spent for the purpose and on the timeline that Congress decided. 

But even when an appropriations bill is signed into law, there are still shifting priorities and political realities that can stand in the way of spending. When that happens, Congress can make the decision to cancel funding by passing legislation known as a rescission.

So, what happens when the executive branch doesn’t want to spend money that was appropriated at the beginning of a fiscal year? Well, under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA), the president can send their own rescission request to Congress. 

Once a rescission request is submitted, Congress has 45 days to consider it. In the meantime, the executive is allowed to withhold funding until Congress either (1) approves the request with a simple majority vote in the House and Senate or (2) the 45-day clock expires. Then the funding must be released. 

Pocket Rescissions

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s talk about pocket rescissions.  

Take a second to consider this scenario. The president sends a rescission request to Congress, but there are fewer than 45 days left in the fiscal year. This leaves Congress very little time to consider the request, but the president is still allowed to temporarily freeze funding under the ICA.

Using this tactic, a president can basically “pocket” the money until the end of a fiscal year, which is why it is called a pocket rescission. Most appropriations only last for the fiscal year they are passed — meaning if Congress isn’t able to reject the rescission request before September 30, funding will expire and won’t carry over to the next year. As you likely know, getting Congress to work together on an expedited timeline is no easy task. You can read more about that in our government funding primer.  

While presidents have occasionally attempted this strategy near the end of the fiscal year as recently as this September, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) — Congress’s fiscal watchdog — holds that this budget move is unlawful. Why? Because the ICA also requires that funds be made available to spend before the funding authority expires. 

Congress could pass a law to provide more clarity and certainty around pocket rescissions, but that has yet to happen. 

What this means for you. 

No matter how you feel about funding for a specific agency or program, pocket rescissions can effectively allow the president to go around Congress’s power of the purse and make their own decisions about how the programs and priorities you care about are funded. 

The appropriations process is traditionally one of the most bipartisan things that Congress does. Members from both sides of the aisle spend months negotiating and compromising to pass a budget. During this time, constituents and groups can also reach out to members of Congress to advocate for specific funding that is important to them. The pocket rescission can undo some of this work, potentially leaving us with a federal budget that is less reflective of bipartisanship and local needs. 

If you want to learn more about the federal budget, visit our federal budget primer or sign up for our newsletter to get our latest policy explainers.

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