What reconciliation is—and is not

                                                 WHAT RECONCILIATION IS—AND IS NOT

• “Reconciliation” is a budget process used nowadays to pass partisan legislation.
• Generally, because of the filibuster, it takes 60 votes to pass a bill in the Senate—but not a reconciliation bill.
• Reconciliation plays by special rules that require only a simple majority—51 votes instead of the usual 60, or just 50 votes when the vice president is of the same party as the majority.
• The reconciliation process begins with each chamber passing an identical budget “resolution” that is not law and not signed by the president.
• The budget resolution contains reconciliation instructions that direct some committees to achieve certain budgetary effects over a specified period of time. Committees then write legislation consistent with the instructions.
• Provisions of the reconciliation bill must involve spending, taxes, or both.
• At least one chamber must go through the full committee process of writing and marking up legislation. If the legislation includes tax changes, the House goes first.
• Before final passage of the reconciliation bill, the Senate holds a “vote-a-rama”—a seemingly endless process of considering politically charged amendments.
• Generally, the Senate parliamentarian decides what stays in the bill and what goes.
• The reconciliation process cannot be used to cut funding for Title I or special education— for that, lawmakers must use the annual budget process called “appropriations.”