The Democratic Party’s Attack On Senate Norms Is Ramping Up
Senate Democrats intend to erode as many barriers around the reconciliation process as possible. Now, it looks like they've cleared the first hurdle.
By Rachel Bovard
April 9, 2021
Senate Democrats continue to chip away at the Senate’s rules in an effort to jam through as much of President Joe Biden’s agenda as possible. In February, Democrats passed a $1.9 trillion spending bill using the process of budget reconciliation — a fast track procedure that cannot be filibustered. Now, based on a recent opinion issued by the Senate’s parliamentarian, Senate Democrats may have the opportunity to do it again, and again, and again.
Rather than upending the legislative filibuster, an open-ended, unlimited reconciliation process simply bypasses the filibuster altogether. And, though still subject to strict budget parameters, such a move could still allow Senate Democrats to make dramatic changes to federal law — without the input that would normally be required from Senate Republicans.
Each fiscal year, Congress is required to pass a budget that sets an overall cap on how much discretionary spending Congress can pass that year. The budget can contain “reconciliation instructions,†which direct selected congressional committees to make changes to current law to either reduce or increase spending or revenues. That reconciliation package is later passed as its own bill via a privileged process which limits debate and thus prohibits filibuster efforts. Because it is a vehicle that cannot be filibustered, 60 votes are not necessary. It simply passes at a majority threshold.
Under the Congressional Budget Act, a single budget resolution can produce up to three reconciliation bills: one addressing spending, another revenue, and finally, another addressing the debt limit. The substance of each bill must stay within the strict parameters of the CBA — for example, the provisions are required to be largely budgetary, and they cannot increase deficit impacts beyond the 10-year budget window, among other criteria.
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https://thefederalist.com/2021/04/09/the-democratic-partys-attack-on-senate-norms-is-ramping-up/
