1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: Stuff Lauren boglebam here. Passing new legislation in the US 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: can be well difficult, to say the least, and when 4 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,800 Speaker 1: there's a Congress that's all but deadlocked because of razor 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: thin majorities in the House and Senate, that makes passing 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: big budget legislation even more problematic. That's where reconciliation comes 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: into the picture. Budget reconciliation is a way for Congress 8 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: to pass major funding bills, which are notoriously difficult to pass, 9 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: especially when there is a very evenly divided Senate. It 10 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: was created by the Congressional Budget Act of four as 11 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 1: a way to quickly advance these tax and spending bills. 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: With reconciliation, the party in control of Congress can pass 13 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: funding legislation in the Senate, things like taxes, spending, and 14 00:00:56,040 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: debt limits, with a simple majority that is either vote 15 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: or fifty votes and the Vice president's tie breaking vote 16 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: without the threat of a filibuster. It takes sixty votes 17 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: to defeat a filibuster. The Congressional Budget Act also limits 18 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,839 Speaker 1: Senate debate on the bill to twenty hours and limits 19 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: debate on the compromises between the two houses to ten hours, 20 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: which helps the Senate expedite and pass reconciliation bills much faster. 21 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,839 Speaker 1: And to start the process, Congress agrees on a budget 22 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: resolution that includes a reconciliation directive four specified committees. These 23 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: directives instruct the committees on how much to increase or 24 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: decrease spending in revenue or how to limit the debt ceiling. 25 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: It also provides a deadline for completion. A Congress doesn't 26 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: tell the committees how to hit the reconciliation target, just 27 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: to hit it. Once the various committees complete their tasks, 28 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: the House and Senate budget committees combine the recommendations into 29 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: a single omnibus bill, the Reconciliation Bill, and then the 30 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: House and Senate vote. Both must obtain a majority to 31 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:07,360 Speaker 1: pass the legislation. Reconciliation bills can include spending changes two items, 32 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: such as Medicare, Medicaid, federal civilian and military retirement benefits, 33 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program a SNAP formerly known as 34 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,040 Speaker 1: food stamps, and farm programs. The Social Security is untouchable. 35 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: The reconciliation rule allows bills that raise the deficit, but 36 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: only for ten years. The Trump tax cuts were passed 37 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: fire reconciliation, though the Senate allowed some of the tax 38 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: cuts to expire so the bill wouldn't increase the federal 39 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: deficit past that ten year window. In addition, the Bird Rule, 40 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: named for the late Senator Robert Byrd, who served as 41 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,239 Speaker 1: the Democratic Senator for West Virginia for fifty one years, 42 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: is intended to keep extraneous policies from being included in 43 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: budget reconciliation, and basically it keeps senators from sneaking non 44 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: budgetary items into reconciliation. It's up to the Senate parliamentarian 45 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: to decide what is and isn't extraneous to the reconciliation. 46 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: Important to note, reconciliation can only be used once perfect 47 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: school year, and only to change or reconcile laws related 48 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: to taxes and spending. Since reconciliation was first introduced in 49 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: the Congressional Budget Act of nineteen seventy four, it's been 50 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: used twenty one times. Some of its notable uses were 51 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,519 Speaker 1: the Trump tax cuts in seventeen, the Bush tax cuts 52 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand one and two thousand three, Pluton's welfare 53 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: program in ninet and major deficit reduction bills in the 54 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties and nineties, the reconciliation process was also used 55 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: to pass parts of the Affordable Care Act or a 56 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: c A. In and in one, reconciliation was used to 57 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: pass President Joe Biden's one point nine trillion dollar COVID 58 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: nineteen relief package. Today's episode is based on the article 59 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: Reconciliation and Bass tracks massive budget bills through Congress on 60 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot Com. Written by Patty rasmusin brain 61 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of iHeart Radio in partnership with how 62 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clay. 63 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeart 64 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 65 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: favorite shows.