The Senate MP on Monday ruled that Democrats could use special budget rules to avoid a GOP filibuster on two more pieces of legislation, setting the stage for President Biden
Joe BidenBiden to look at ‘Eastern politics’ to negotiate with autocrats The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden’s infrastructure plan leads to definition debate The memorandum: Biden’s bet on taxes MORE‘s infrastructure agenda to succeed in two packages with ordinary majority votes.
This is a victory for Senate leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y.), who allows himself to pass Biden’s $ 2.25 trillion package by revising the 2021 budget resolution.
Schumer could adopt a budget resolution for the 2022 budget to implement a third reconciliation package for the second half of the Biden Infrastructure Agenda. Or the fiscal budget for 2021 could be revised a third time to draft a third reconciliation package.
Schumer’s best assistants argued to MP Elizabeth MacDonough last month that section 304 of the 1974 Congressional Budget Act would allow them to revise the 2021 fiscal budget resolution to draw up additional reconciliation instructions, drawing up roads to year to pass two more bills, with only a simple majority in the 50-50 Senate.
“The parliamentarian advised that a revised budget resolution could contain instructions on budget reconciliation. It confirms the leader’s interpretation of the budget law and allows Democrats additional tools to improve the lives of Americans if Republican obstruction persists,” a spokesman for Schumer said in a statement. Monday. “While no decisions have been made on the legislative path forward using Article 304 and some parameters have yet to be worked out, the parliamentarian’s view is an important step forward that this important path is available to Democrats if necessary.”
Democrats used the budget reconciliation process earlier this year to pass Biden’s bill on $ 1.9 billion coronavirus relief without any IDP votes, instead of the 60 votes needed to advance upper-chamber legislation.
The new ruling will enable Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi Lawyers say the solution to the border crisis is Biden’s job. Suspect in a car attack in Capitol had errors, suicidal thoughts: reports Schumer: Car attack emphasizes the need for Congress to address ‘security at the Capitol’. (D-California) to split Biden’s infrastructure proposal into two legislative packages.
The first part, a $ 2.25 billion benchmark unveiled by the White House last month, contains more traditional infrastructure priorities. The second part, planned later in the year, will include more people-oriented spending priorities favored by progressives, such as expanded childcare, free community college, universal nursery school and more affordable housing.
Both the Senate and the House will have to take another parallel resolution to cause an extra set of reconciliation instructions.
Democratic assistants say a second infrastructure package will be needed if Biden’s $ 2.25 trillion proposal is scaled down in an effort to secure any Republican votes or the support of Democratic centralists like Sen. Joe Manchin
Joe Manchin GOP senator hammers Biden’s proposal to raise taxes on taxes. The filibuster can be conquered: I know – I helped to do it. Lawmakers say resolving border crisis is Biden’s task MORE (W.Va.).
A Schumer assistant said last week that the majority leader “wants to maximize his options to allow the Senate Democrats in various ways to advance President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda as Senate Republicans try to block a bilateral agreement. or to drain. “
Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate Ron Wyden
Ronald (Ron) Lee Wyden Worried about China? Makes it easier to search elsewhere. Schumer says the Senate will continue to legalize marijuana. Biden raises Capitol Hill’s concerns about spending, taxes MORE (D-Ore.), Which has the jurisdiction of the tax law that Democrats are planning to pay for part of Biden’s infrastructure agenda, applauded the MP’s decision Monday night.
‘I welcome the MP’s ruling that budget resolutions can be revised so that we can consider moving additional bills through the reconciliation process. “The American people want to take courageous action to meet our country’s many challenges, and the Democrats now have more options to overcome the Republican obstruction and get things done,” he said in a statement.
Senate Republicans argued that Democrats should not be allowed to move two separate reconciliation packages, with special protection against a filibuster, from the same budget resolution.
“This is an abuse of process and clearly not what reconciliation was intended for, but they are going to continue anyway,” said one of the IDP assistants.
The party in charge of the White House, the House and the Senate seek to promote only one reconciliation package per fiscal year budget. During former President Trump
Donald TrumpBiden needs to look at ‘Eastern politics’ to negotiate with autocrats. The memorandum: Biden’s bet on taxes. Why Some Republicans Think Vaccine Passports Will Fall Back MOREThe Republicans’ first year in office, used a fiscal resolution in fiscal 2017 to advance legislation that would repeal parts of the Actedable Care Act, followed by a fiscal budget resolution 2018 to introduce the Tax Savings and Jobs Act.
Schumer used the first fiscal reconciliation package of fiscal 2021 to pass the $ 1.9 billion US bailout plan on March 6 in a 50-49 vote.
MacDonough slammed Democrats over the bill by deciding in late February that they could not add a provision that raises the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, a provision that Biden included in his initial proposal for pandemic relief. has.
The revision of the 2021 budget resolution will require 15 hours of debate on the Senate floor and another budget vote, which will burn valuable time on the calendar.
‘It’s 15 hours for the review on the Senate floor. You still have to report, you still have to call it, you still have to get on the floor, you still have a possibility of voice-a-rama, ‘said Bill Hoagland, a budget expert at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “I’m not entirely sure in the grand scheme of things that save you a lot of time.”
Following the revision of the 2021 budget resolution, the Democrats were then able to pass a fiscal 2022 resolution and introduce a third budget resolution to pass the second half of Biden’s infrastructure agenda and increase the federal debt by the end of the year.
Congress has suspended the debt period until 2021, after which the Treasury Department will use ‘extraordinary measures’ to extend the federal government’s lending authority by a few months, probably until the end of the year.
While Democrats may include multiple reconciliation instructions in the 2022 budget resolution to pass half of Biden’s infrastructure agenda and increase the debt limit, leaders may consider other priorities for the resolution.
Updated at 19:05