The Nitty Gritty of Reconciliation
March 5, 2010 | Steph
For the last week most of us have heard the word ‘reconciliation’ more than we thought possible – it is quickly becoming the ‘hanging chad’ of 2010. As the days go on, some believe it is more and more likely that the Senate will pass health care reform legislation using reconciliation. But how many of us around the country are looking at one another and asking: What on earth is reconciliation? Well, search no more because Beats Per Minute is going to try to provide some answers! Over the last week, we have done some research in order to understand this process better. While we are certainly not experts, here is our best attempt to break down this very complicated process. And please chime in if you have something to add!
The History
Reconciliation evolved from the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Twenty-two bills have been approved using reconciliation since 1980, 16 by a Republican controlled Senate and 6 by Democrats. There are many well-known pieces of legislation that were passed recently using reconciliation, including Bush tax cuts and Clinton welfare reform. Read more about the history of reconciliation here.
The Basics
Reconciliation is a legislative process of the Senate that allows for bills to be passed by a simple majority of 51 votes. Reconciliation is only permitted for legislation related to budget items. Specifically for health care, the Democrats do not have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes and as such would be unable to move reform legislation through the Senate without a filibuster from Republicans. In order to avoid that lengthy delay, Democrats can agree to consider the bill under reconciliation. This would allow the Senate to debate the issue for 20 hours before a vote is ordered. At that time, the Senate would vote on the pieces of legislation that relate to the budget in order to make changes to the bill. Then the House would pass the completed, identical bill. Finally, the bill would make its way to President Obama for his signature.
The Complications
Obviously, passing health care reform using reconciliation is not simple. First, politically it is a very risky move for the Democrats and President Obama. Many people are not thrilled at the idea of putting health care reform on the fast track or, as some have called it, ‘ramming it through’ in Congress. Using reconciliation will likely create a volatile environment for Democrats come November. Also, many are claiming that using reconciliation on this particular piece of legislation is unconstitutional. This is a very sticky area, one that will be decided by a referee of sorts, Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin. Frumin will be charged with the responsibility of deciding what aspects of the health care reform bill can and cannot be passed using reconciliation. Finally, despite all the politically-risky moves from Democrats, there is still the possibility that reconciliation won’t work. With the abortion issue coming back into play, anti-abortion Democrats in the House could kill the bill after it gets out of the Senate. All of the efforts of the President and Senate Democrats could end with the House voting down the bill anyway.
At the end of the day, the merit of using reconciliation is a murky situation – muddled with valid opinions on both sides of the aisle. What is an absolute is that 30 million uninsured Americans need reform now. With the unemployment rate huddling near 10%, it is evident that even more Americans do and will need access to affordable health care. This reform cannot wait. The American people cannot wait.
