Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, presented a resolution for the budget for this financial year the day before, the first step of the ‘reconciliation process’.
This resolution is sort of an instruction for various committees of the two houses to write their recommendations on how much and on what aspects it can be spent. If both the House of Representatives and the Senate approve them, they will be included in the same bill sent to the president.
For now, Biden has said he will hold talks with a group of Republican senators, some of whom have questions about whether a $ 1.9 trillion plan should get the green light and the terms and conditions for providing some of the aid. Nevertheless, also stated that “it will not slow down his work (…) neither will it settle for a package that fails “with what it believes should be approved at this point.
That is why this process of ‘budget reconciliation’ has come into play, as it would allow parts of his plan to get the green light from the Senate without the 60 votes the measures usually require. In that case they could be approved by simple majority.
“With this budget resolution, the Democratic (majority) Congress paves the way for the Biden and Harris coronavirus package, which will crush the virus and bring real relief to families and communities in need,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a statement.
Specifically, they asked the corresponding committees to draw up their recommendations for inclusion in this year’s budget a check for $ 1,400 per person and per eligible child, please indicate $ 400 a week in federal unemployment benefits until September and funds for $ 350 billion for state and local governments.
On those three points, there are currently differences with Republicans, who have asked to limit the number of people who will receive a check, provide federal unemployment benefits until June, and rule out the money from state and local governments.
Pelosi and Schumer asked, among other things, to make recommendations raise funds for the massive vaccination process and the reopening of schools and childcare centers. So far there has been a bipartisan consensus on this issue, and the Republicans have even suggested passing it on separately.
What are the steps they take in this “reconciliation process”? How has it been used in the past? What aspects make it possible for you to consider adopting measures in Congress more quickly? We explain below:
