05.19.26 - Reconciliation Rundown + Senate Process Summary

Congress is hurtling towards votes on a massive funding infusion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, paired with money to build the President’s gilded ballroom. But the package’s contours could still change as Republicans go through the reconciliation process that allows them to move the bill without Democratic votes. 

Below, we’ll get into where things stand, key process points to know, and what to watch ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. For more background on reconciliation, check out A Visual Guide to Reconciliation.

What does the package look like now? 

The latest bill (text here and here) includes $62 billion, which covers $38 billion for ICE and $16 billion for Border Patrol, with the remainder going to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s Office, the Department of Justice, and the Secret Service. The National Immigration Law Center has an excellent, detailed summary here. 

The Secret Service pot ($1 billion) would cover the President’s deeply unpopular 90,000 square foot ballroom—which, as written, doesn’t adhere to reconciliation’s strict rules. That means Republicans must strike the provision or revise it. While they’re working on a rewrite, some Republicans are opening the door to ditching the ballroom money. That could come as a relief to numerous House and Senate GOP members who don’t want to vote for it. 

The President, however, may not take kindly even to a revision, having reportedly asked the Senate Majority Leader to fire the chamber’s Parliamentarian over her determination that the money can’t move forward as-is. We’ll see how the GOP navigates this as the chambers prepare for votes. 

What happens next?

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced their portion of the bill today on a party-line vote. The Judiciary Committee, which covers the rest of the bill, is forgoing a markup, thereby allowing the Budget Committee to advance the bill tomorrow (May 20). Then it heads to the Senate floor—I’ll get into what happens there below.   

Senate debate

Senate debate time on a reconciliation bill is fixed at 20 hours, split evenly between the parties. Republicans could opt to not use their full 10 hours of debate to speed things along.

Once time is up, the Senate can only add additional debate time by unanimous consent—that is, if all 100 senators agree. Otherwise, the Senate may only consider amendments and a vote on final passage. There is no limit to the number of amendments that can be offered, which typically results in an hours-long series of amendment votes known as “vote-a-rama.” More on that later.

The Byrd Rule and points of order 

Before we get to vote-a-rama, here’s a quick summary of the all-important Byrd Rule. 

The Senate’s Parliamentarian determines whether the bill’s provisions comply with Section 313 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, better known as the “Byrd Rule.” The Byrd Rule deems a provision ineligible for reconciliation if it meets any of the following criteria: 

• It does not change expenditures or revenues, or the conditions by which they are made or collected. 

• The changes to spending or revenues are merely incidental to the relevant provision. The nonpartisan Senate Parliamentarian makes the “merely incidental” determination, arguably the Byrd Rule’s most subjective element. 

• It is outside the jurisdiction of the committee that submitted the provision. 

• The change in spending or revenues does not comply with the relevant committee’s reconciliation instructions. 

• It increases the deficit after 10 years. So, if a provision increases the deficit without an offset, it must wind down or expire to avoid violating this rule. 

• It changes Social Security.

If the Parliamentarian advises that a provision does not comply with the Byrd Rule, the provision is typically modified or removed—either preemptively before the bill reaches the floor, by floor amendment, or by point of order. 

If the Parliamentarian advises against a provision and the provision is not removed before the bill reaches the Senate floor, a senator may raise a point of order during floor debate. Think of this like an attorney “objecting” in a courtroom. It is possible for the Senate’s Presiding Officer—a member of the majority party—to ignore the Parliamentarian’s guidance, determine that the point of order is without merit, and allow the provision to stay in place. This has rarely happened. 

If a point of order is raised and sustained by the Senate’s Presiding Officer, the provision is stricken—unless a senator moves to waive the point of order and retain the provision. In that case, the Senate votes on whether to keep the provision in the bill, with 60 votes required to do so. 

Vote-a-rama

Vote-a-rama offers the minority party a chance to force votes on their priorities and put the majority on-the-record on controversial matters—like the ballroom money. However, the amendments must adhere to specific parameters: 

• The amendments must be germane. 

• The amendments cannot violate the Byrd Rule. 

• The amendments must lower the deficit or leave it untouched. Amendments cannot raise the deficit, except amendments that strike whole provisions from the bill. These are permitted even when the eliminated provision would reduce the deficit. 

Senate passage and what’s next 

Once no more amendments are offered, the Senate votes on passage. Passage requires a simple majority vote (51 of 100). After that, the bill can head to the House. If the House gets the bill by Friday, there will be considerable pressure on GOP leaders to vote before the long weekend. How House Republican leadership manages that with one member absent and at least two on the fence remains to be seen—but, then again, the final bill remains to be seen, too. 

The bottom line 

If Republicans succeed in passing this package, they’ll have given tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to Border Patrol and ICE—an agency that half of America wants to abolish and most Americans think is making the country less safe. They’re doing this less than a year after greenlighting an extra $170 billion for immigration enforcement, paid for by cuts to health care and food assistance, and mere months after the country watched immigration agents kill Renée Good and Alex Pretti. And that doesn’t even touch on the ballroom the President promised would come at “ZERO cost to the American Taxpayer!” 

At a time when inflation, gas prices, and grocery prices are rising, Republicans have made their priorities clear. 

If you’d like a live update for your group or coalition, reach out to catherine@webuildprogress.org. Thanks!