Parliamentarian: Democrats only get one more chance to sidestep GOP this year
By Alexander Bolton - 06/02/21 11:41 AM EDT
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has effectively ruled that only one more automatic budget reconciliation is permissible this year, dealing a blow to Democrats who previously thought they would have two more chances to sidestep Republicans in advancing President Biden's agenda.
MacDonough ruled that a revision to the 2021 budget resolution cannot be automatically discharged from the Senate Budget Committee, meaning Democrats would need at least one Republican on the 11-11 panel to vote with them.
The bombshell ruling effectively means Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) will be able to use only one more reconciliation vehicle to pass Biden's key legislative priorities this year. He will not be able to divide up the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan and the $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, as well as Biden's calls to expand Medicare and lower the price of prescription drugs, into multiple reconciliation packages as was envisioned only a few weeks ago.
Anything that Schumer wants to pass through the Senate with a simple-majority vote in 2021 will have to go into one budget reconciliation package.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/556483-parliamentarian-democrats-only-get-one-more-chance-to-sidestep-gop-this-year
