2 USC 907d – Special reconciliation process
Terms Used In 2 USC 907d
- Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
- Conference report: The compromise product negotiated by the conference committee. The "conference report" is submitted to each chamber for its consideration, such as approval or disapproval.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- OMB: means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. See 2 USC 900
- Reconciliation bill: A bill containing changes in law recommended pursuant to reconciliation instructions in a budget resolution. If the instructions pertain to only one committee in a chamber, that committee reports the reconciliation bill. If the instructions pertain to more than one committee, the Budget Committee reports an omnibus reconciliation bill, but it may not make substantive changes in the recommendations of the other committees.
- sequestration: refer to or mean the cancellation of budgetary resources provided by discretionary appropriations or direct spending law. See 2 USC 900
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
(a) Reporting of resolutions and reconciliation bills and resolutions, in Senate
(1) Committee alternatives to Presidential order
After the submission of an OMB sequestration update report under section 904 of this title that envisions a sequestration under section 902 or 903 of this title, each standing committee of the Senate may, not later than October 10, submit to the Committee on the Budget of the Senate information of the type described in section 632(d) of this title with respect to alternatives to the order envisioned by such report insofar as such order affects laws within the jurisdiction of the committee.
(2) Initial Budget Committee action
After the submission of such a report, the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may, not later than October 15, report to the Senate a resolution. The resolution may affirm the impact of the order envisioned by such report, in whole or in part. To the extent that any part is not affirmed, the resolution shall state which parts are not affirmed and shall contain instructions to committees of the Senate of the type referred to in section 641(a) of this title, sufficient to achieve at least the total level of deficit reduction contained in those sections which are not affirmed.
(3) Response of committees
Committees instructed pursuant to paragraph (2), or affected thereby, shall submit their responses to the Budget Committee no later than 10 days after the resolution referred to in paragraph (2) is agreed to, except that if only one such Committee is so instructed such Committee shall, by the same date, report to the Senate a reconciliation bill or reconciliation resolution containing its recommendations in response to such instructions. A committee shall be considered to have complied with all instructions to it pursuant to a resolution adopted under paragraph (2) if it has made recommendations with respect to matters within its jurisdiction which would result in a reduction in the deficit at least equal to the total reduction directed by such instructions.
(4) Budget Committee action
Upon receipt of the recommendations received in response to a resolution referred to in paragraph (2), the Budget Committee shall report to the Senate a reconciliation bill or reconciliation resolution, or both, carrying out all such recommendations without any substantive revisions. In the event that a committee instructed in a resolution referred to in paragraph (2) fails to submit any recommendation (or, when only one committee is instructed, fails to report a reconciliation bill or resolution) in response to such instructions, the Budget Committee shall include in the reconciliation bill or reconciliation resolution reported pursuant to this subparagraph legislative language within the jurisdiction of the noncomplying committee to achieve the amount of deficit reduction directed in such instructions.
(5) Point of order
It shall not be in order in the Senate to consider any reconciliation bill or reconciliation resolution reported under paragraph (4) with respect to a fiscal year, any amendment thereto, or any conference report thereon if—
(A) the enactment of such bill or resolution as reported;
(B) the adoption and enactment of such amendment; or
(C) the enactment of such bill or resolution in the form recommended in such conference report,
would cause the amount of the deficit for such fiscal year to exceed the maximum deficit amount for such fiscal year, unless the low-growth report submitted under section 904 of this title projects negative real economic growth for such fiscal year, or for each of any two consecutive quarters during such fiscal year.
(6) Treatment of certain amendments
In the Senate, an amendment which adds to a resolution reported under paragraph (2) an instruction of the type referred to in such paragraph shall be in order during the consideration of such resolution if such amendment would be in order but for the fact that it would be held to be non-germane on the basis that the instruction constitutes new matter.
(7) “Day” defined
For purposes of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the term “day” shall mean any calendar day on which the Senate is in session.
(b) Procedures
(1) In general
Except as provided in paragraph (2), in the Senate the provisions of sections 636 and 641 of this title for the consideration of concurrent resolutions on the budget and conference reports thereon shall also apply to the consideration of resolutions, and reconciliation bills and reconciliation resolutions reported under this paragraph and conference reports thereon.
(2) Limit on debate
Debate in the Senate on any resolution reported pursuant to subsection (a)(2), and all amendments thereto and debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to 10 hours.
(3) Limitation on amendments
Section 641(d)(2) of this title shall apply to reconciliation bills and reconciliation resolutions reported under this subsection.
(4) Bills and resolutions received from the House
Any bill or resolution received in the Senate from the House, which is a companion to a reconciliation bill or reconciliation resolution of the Senate for the purposes of this subsection, shall be considered in the Senate pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
(5) “Resolution” defined
For purposes of this subsection, the term “resolution” means a simple, joint, or concurrent resolution.