The Republican Congressional majority is talking about quickly moving reconciliation packages, legislation that could dramatically impact millions of lives. They would drastically limit access to healthcare and food assistance for millions of people, dramatically shift the tax code to further benefit wealthy individuals and corporations, heavily invest in border militarization and immigration enforcement, and reverse historic gains in promoting clean energy.
How Budget Reconciliation Works
Normally, Congress requires a majority in the House of Representatives and 60 votes in the Senate to pass legislation. However, when the same party controls the House, Senate, and White House, budget reconciliation is available to fast-track major legislation that has significant budget implications into law. This avoids the filibuster and requires only a simple majority in both chambers. Some of the biggest and most consequential bills enacted over the last 30 years have passed under budget reconciliation: 1996 welfare reform, the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Under budget reconciliation, Congress passes a budget resolution. The budget resolution is not law, and the president does not sign it. The budget resolution instructs committees to draft legislation with a certain dollar amount attached or to reduce deficits by a certain amount. Once a budget resolution is passed, committees have a chance to draft or amend a bill with markups. After the committees markup their bills, the bills are combined into one big reconciliation bill that moves through the House and Senate.
Why This Budget Reconciliation Matters
The reconciliation package is an imminent threat in many areas: healthcare, food assistance, migration, and climate. Key programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could face drastic cuts as lawmakers look for ways to offset funding for tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations, increased border militarization, and defense spending. Members of Congress are willing to use the reconciliation package to shovel money into militarizing border enforcement agencies, while simultaneously reversing clean energy incentives.
As these policies make their way through Congress, one thing becomes abundantly clear - this is not just a matter of economics. Legislation is, at its core, a moral issue. Decisions about who gets access to healthcare, who can feed their family, and who can receive aid are deeply ethical.
Legislation is, at its core, a moral issue.
It’s one thing to argue about the fiscal implications of government spending, but it’s another to take away the social safety nets that help the most vulnerable members of our community. Stripping funding from Medicaid, SNAP, and other crucial programs to reduce the deficit while simultaneously giving tax cuts to the wealthiest raises serious moral questions.
Should we be asking the marginalized to bear the brunt of fiscal scarcity, while giving special tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and corporations? Let’s put it into perspective: millions of people are expected to pay for the top 5% in the name of balancing the nation’s checkbook. It becomes even more absurd when you look at the whole government’s budget. The Pentagon has failed its seventh audit in a row because its $824 billion dollar budget could not be adequately unaccounted for.
Regardless of where you were born or your background, everyone should have the right to live with dignity. In a country that was established on the right to thrive, Congress should ensure that everyone has that opportunity. Lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, have the authority to ensure that the most vulnerable in our nation are protected and this vision is realized. The time for action is now. We must guarantee that everyone has the tools to lead a fulfilling life.
