Reconciliation (Senate)

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Reconciliation is a legislative process of the United States Senate that is intended to allow a contentious budget bill to be considered without being subject to filibuster.

The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created reconciliation. (See Pub.L. 93-344, § 310; 88 Stat. 297; 2 U.S.C. § 641.) But Congress came to use it in the 1980s. Congress used reconciliation to enact President Bill Clinton's 1993 (fiscal year 1994) budget. (See Pub.L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 312.) President Clinton wanted to use reconciliation to pass his health care plan, but Senator Robert Byrd insisted that the health care plan was out of bounds for a process that is theoretically about budgets.

Until 1996, reconciliation was limited to deficit reduction, but in 1996 the Senate adopted a precedent to apply reconciliation to any legislation affecting the budget, even legislation that would worsen the deficit. Under the administration of President George W. Bush, Congress has used reconciliation to enact three major tax cuts. Senate Republicans have repeatedly tried to use reconciliation to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Reconciliation can be used for anything that relates to the budget. The "Byrd Rule" (2 U.S.C. § 644) outlines what reconciliation can and cannot be used for. The Byrd Rule defines matter to be extraneous in six cases:

(1) if it does not produce a change in outlays or revenues;
(2) if it produces an outlay increase or revenue decrease when the instructed committee is not in compliance with its instructions;
(3) if it is outside the jurisdiction of the committee that submitted the title or provision for inclusion in the reconciliation measure;
(4) if it produces a change in outlays or revenues which is merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision;
(5) if it would increase the deficit for a fiscal year beyond those covered by the reconciliation measure; and
(6) if it recommends changes in Social Security.

If a provision violates the Byrd Rule, then any Senator may raise a procedural objection and unless 60 Senators vote to waive the objection, then the offending provision will be stripped from the bill.

[edit] Instances

Reconciliation bills have included:

Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-499 (Dec. 5, 1980).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Pub. L. No. 97-35 (Aug. 13, 1981).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982, Pub. L. No. 97-253 (Sept. 8, 1982).
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), Pub. L. No. 97-248 (Sept. 3, 1982).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1983, Pub. L. No. 98-270 (Apr. 18, 1984).
Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (DEFRA), Pub. L. No. 98-369 (July 18, 1984).
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), Pub. L. No. 99-272 (Apr. 7, 1986).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, Pub. L. No. 99-509 (Oct. 21, 1986).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987, Pub. L. No. 100-203 (Dec. 22, 1987).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, Pub. L. No. 101-239 (Dec. 19, 1989).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-508 (Nov. 5, 1990).
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-66 (Aug. 10, 1990).
Balanced Budget Act of 1995, H.R. 2491, 104th Cong. (1995) (vetoed Dec. 6, 1995).
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-193 (Aug. 22, 1996).
Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-33 (Aug. 5, 1997).
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 105-34 (Aug. 5, 1997).
Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999, H.R. 2488, 106th Cong. (1999) (vetoed Sept. 23, 1999).
Marriage Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2000, H.R. 4810, 106th Cong. (2000) (vetoed Aug. 5, 2000).
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), Pub. L. No. 107-16 (June 7, 2001).
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-27 (May 28, 2003).
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-171 (Feb. 8, 2006).
Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA), Pub. L. No. 109-222 (May 17, 2006).