Although Democrats do not have enough of a majority to

Although Democrats do not have enough of a majority to reach the 60-vote threshold that has become almost mandatory for important legislation in the Senate, they intend to use a secret procedure known as budget reconciliation to pass the bill with a simple majority. Explanation: What Congressional budget reconciliation means Democrats hope to use a maneuver known as budget reconciliation to pass a major $3.5 trillion economic plan despite objections from Republicans. Reconciliation bills are often used to address issues of particular importance to the ruling party, such as health care under President Barack Obama and tax cuts under Trump. Sometimes, however, the party in power can use special rules to get a small number of budget bills through the Senate each quarter with only 50 votes. Democrats used reconciliation to pass some health care changes in 2010, and Republicans used it to pass tax cuts in 2017 and in a failed attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act during Donald Trump’s presidency. As you can imagine, the budget vote was designed to help Congress pass budget bills. It is natural to wonder why a party with a majority in the Senate, but less than 60 members overall, would not use this particular tool to pass the bill it hopes to pass. The legislation was passed as part of the budget reconciliation process. But voting on the budget is not as simple as adding measures to the bill and then voting on them. Senate Democrats are working on a $3.5 trillion economic plan that, if passed, would include major federal investments in child care, immigration and climate change programs. For budget bills, there is a special voting program called vote-a-rama, which begins after debate on the bill ends. Of course, to become law, a bill must pass both houses of Congress: the House and the Senate. Once the House and Senate approve the final package – which meets all budgetary requirements and satisfies enough lawmakers – it is submitted to the president for signature. The vote also gives senators an opportunity to try to override parts of the budget resolution with amendments and points of order. Both houses of Congress passed a budget resolution directing committees to allocate $3.5 trillion in new spending.