Reconciliation (United States Congress) facts for kids
Budget reconciliation is a special set of rules used by the United States Congress to help pass certain laws about the country's money. These rules are mostly important in the United States Senate, where they make it easier to pass budget-related bills.
Normally, in the Senate, a group of senators can use a tactic called a filibuster. This means they can talk for a very long time to stop a vote from happening. To end a filibuster, you usually need 60 votes. But with budget reconciliation, bills can pass with a simple majority, which is just 51 votes (or 50 votes if the Vice President casts the tie-breaking vote).
These special rules also apply to the United States House of Representatives, but they don't change much there. The House already has rules that allow bills to pass with a simple majority.
In recent years, it has become harder for Congress to agree on laws. Because of this, budget reconciliation has become a very important way for Congress to pass laws about money.
Budget reconciliation bills can deal with government spending, taxes (revenue), and the country's debt limit. Congress can pass one bill per year for each of these topics. So, they could pass up to three reconciliation bills in a year. However, usually, they pass just one bill that covers both spending and taxes.
There's a rule called the "Byrd Rule" that stops bills from including things that aren't really about the budget. It also stops reconciliation bills from increasing the national debt after ten years. And it prevents changes to Social Security through this process.
Contents
How Budget Reconciliation Works
The Process
Budget reconciliation is an optional part of how Congress plans the government's money each year.
The process usually starts when the President sends a budget plan to Congress. Then, both the Senate and the House of Representatives start working on their own budget plans. This begins in the Senate Budget Committee and the House Budget Committee.
Each committee suggests a budget plan that sets goals for spending in the next year. To start the reconciliation process, both the House and Senate must agree on the exact same budget plan. This plan must also include instructions for reconciliation.
Other committees then create bills that fit these spending goals. These individual bills are then combined into one large bill, sometimes called an "omnibus bill." Both the House and Senate then vote on their own version of this large bill.
The reconciliation process doesn't change much in the House of Representatives. But it's very important in the Senate. Unlike most other bills, senators cannot use a filibuster to stop a reconciliation bill. This is because debate on these bills is limited to 20 hours.
So, reconciliation bills only need a simple majority of votes in the Senate to pass. This is different from the 60 votes usually needed to end a filibuster. Senators could try to delay a vote by offering many, many amendments, a process sometimes called a "vote-a-rama." But unlike a filibuster, senators must actually stand up and speak to offer each amendment.
Even though reconciliation helps bills bypass the filibuster, it doesn't change other basic rules for passing a law. Both the House and Senate must still pass the exact same bill. Then, the bill goes to the President. The President can sign it into law or veto it. If the President vetoes it, Congress can still make it a law with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.
The Byrd Rule
The Byrd Rule is named after Senator Robert Byrd. It was created in 1985 and updated in 1990. This rule says what kinds of things are "extraneous" (meaning they don't belong) in a reconciliation bill. A part of a bill is extraneous if:
- It doesn't change how much the government spends or collects in taxes.
- It increases spending or lowers taxes when the committee wasn't supposed to do that.
- It's outside the area of responsibility of the committee that suggested it.
- It changes spending or taxes, but only in a small way compared to its main purpose, which isn't about the budget.
- It would increase the national debt for years beyond what the reconciliation bill covers (usually 10 years).
- It suggests changes to Social Security.
The Byrd Rule doesn't automatically remove these "extraneous" parts. Instead, a senator has to object to them. If a senator objects, the person in charge of the Senate (the presiding officer), usually with advice from the Senate's rules expert (the Senate parliamentarian), decides if the part is extraneous. It takes 60 senators to vote to overturn that decision. While the Vice President (who is also the President of the Senate) could overrule the parliamentarian, this has not happened since 1975.
Other Rules
Congress can pass up to three reconciliation bills each year. Each bill can focus on one of the main topics: taxes, spending, or the national debt limit. However, if Congress passes one reconciliation bill that covers more than one of these topics, they cannot pass another reconciliation bill later that year for those same topics. In reality, Congress usually passes only one reconciliation bill per year at most.
Other rules have also been added to reconciliation. For example, from 2007 to 2011, Congress had a rule that stopped reconciliation from being used to increase the national debt.
Important Laws Passed Using Reconciliation
Many important laws have been passed using the reconciliation process. Some examples include:
- The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), which helps people keep health insurance after leaving a job.
- The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, which changed welfare programs.
- The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, which cut taxes.
- The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which made changes to healthcare and student loans.
- The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which significantly changed tax laws.
- The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provided relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which focused on climate change, healthcare costs, and taxes.
See also
- Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
- Filibuster in the United States
- Nuclear option
