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WASHINGTON – Republicans in Congress are again looking at the sophisticated budget reconciliation process as a way to achieve some of their policy goals without Democratic votes.

GOP leaders were able to operate the special route last year to approve the “big, beautiful” law that extended tax cuts, revised and cut Medicaid, provided hundreds of billions in additional funding to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and increased the nation’s debt limit by $5 trillion, among other things.

Now Republicans will try to operate the process at least one more time to provide years of funding to the Department of Homeland Security during a two-month shutdown with no such thing Restrictions on immigration enforcement That’s what the Democrats were aiming for.

Democrats’ push to limit enforcement after immigration agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis resulted in a Record-breaking stalemate via the annual DHS appropriations bill.

The funding shortfall has not yet impacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, which Republicans strengthened in the last reconciliation bill. But it impacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration.

Reconciliation will require Republicans in the House and Senate to be almost entirely united in their goals, especially if the party seeks to include elements of a sensitive voter ID law called the SAVE America Act or other policies that do not have a significant impact on federal revenues, spending or the debt limit.

What is and isn’t included in another reconciliation package will become increasingly essential to GOP leaders’ re-election message as the country gets closer Midterm elections in November.

Why operate budget reconciliation?

Regular bills require a elementary majority to pass the House, but at least 60 senators must vote to end debate in that chamber. This step, sometimes called the “legislative filibuster” or “cloture,” forces bipartisanship on most legislation unless it goes through the reconciliation process.

Budget reconciliation bills are exempt from this Senate rule.

So why haven’t Republicans used reconciliation to implement all of their policy goals and campaign promises since taking unified control last year?

Budget reconciliation bills must follow a specific process and meet strict requirements in the Senate known as the Byrd Rule, named after former West Virginia Democratic Senator Robert Byrd.

This simply requires reconciliation legislation that regulates federal spending, revenue, or debt in a way that is not viewed as “merely incidental” by the Senate parliamentarian.

How complicated could reconciliation really be?

Very.

First, the House and Senate must pass a budget resolution with identical committee voting instructions. These guidelines give committee leaders either a minimum amount they can spend over the next decade or a maximum amount they can add to the deficit during that window.

The Senate cannot approve the budget resolution without consent a marathon voting session on amendments This is called Vote-a-Rama and usually lasts behind schedule into the night.

A budget resolution is a tax and spending plan, sort of like a plan for building a house before you’ve actually taken out a mortgage or bought a property. It’s a proposal, but it doesn’t change tax law or spend any money.

Once the budget is passed, House committees that receive voting instructions must draft, debate, and vote on their bill to send it to the Budget Committee.

Then the Budget Committee bundles all the reconciliation legislation into one package and sends it to the House, where lawmakers must vote to send it to the Senate, where things get even more sophisticated.

What happens next?

Before a reconciliation bill goes to the Senate, it goes through the so-called “Byrd bath,” in which the Senate parliamentarian determines whether each provision meets strict rules.

Senate leaders can adopt the House-passed version of the bill or go through the committee process on their side of the Capitol. Typically, the upper chamber goes directly to the floor and amends the bill passed by the House of Representatives.

The Senate then goes through another voting session in which the minority party, currently the Democrats, is given the opportunity to hear from all 100 representatives in that chamber on various proposals in the bill.

That process will be particularly challenging this year as Democrats seek to introduce protections for immigration enforcement measures and push Republicans for reelection on some of the most pressing issues facing the country.

If the Senate makes changes to the bill passed by the House of Representatives, it must be sent back to that chamber for final approval before it can be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature.

If the Senate approves a bill identical to the one passed by the House, it would go to Trump without requiring another vote in the House.

What exactly is the Byrd Rule?

Elements of the bill would violate this rule if they:

• There were no changes to revenues, expenses or debt limits.
• Change income or expenses in a way that is considered “purely random.”
• Change policies outside the jurisdiction of the approval committee.
• The committee’s voting instructions in the budget resolution were not followed.
• Increases the deficit beyond the budget window (typically 10 years).
• Change Social Security in any way, shape or form.

How often can Republicans operate reconciliation? Is it unlimited?

They have two more chances during this Congress, but are restricted by the number of budget resolutions they can pass.

Republican leaders used the fiscal year 2025 budget resolution to push for passage of the “big, beautiful” law. They can write a fiscal year 2026 budget resolution for another round and then operate the fiscal year 2027 budget resolution to conduct a third voting process if they wish.

The federal government’s fiscal years begin on October 1st.