Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Senate Gives Biden a Big Tool to Work Around GOP Filibuster
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
April 7, 2021

Share

WASHINGTON — With a powerful new tool, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has fresh options for potentially advancing President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package and other priorities past Republican obstruction in the 50-50 split Senate.

Republicans still pledge to do all they can to halt Biden, but an official parliamentarian’s opinion this week is a potential game-changer. It unleashes multiple options for Democrats to advance parts of Biden’s agenda — including immigration and Medicare legislation — with 51 votes in the 100-member Senate rather than the 60 typically needed to move major legislation past filibuster threats.

There has been talk of trying to change the filibuster rules, but that would be a very heavy political lift in the divided and tradition-devoted Senate.

McConnell Says Bipartisanship Lacking

The White House was heartened by the parliamentarian’s ruling but isn’t giving up on support from some Republicans, despite their strong opposition to paying for much of the infrastructure plan with a corporate tax increase. The president, said press secretary Jen Psaki, “continues to believe … that there is a bipartisan path forward.”

However, it is clear that the deep partisan polarization in Washington has led to a new era in legislating. The seasoned policy wonks on Capitol Hill are digging deep into the procedural toolbox to find ways around the gridlock that typically leaves Congress at a standstill.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell chided Biden for partisanship, and declared Tuesday that his side would not be supporting the $2.3 trillion infrastructure package that Biden wants to pay for with the tax hike on corporations.

“For a president who ran as a bipartisan, I haven’t seen that yet,” McConnell told reporters in Kentucky.

McConnell said Biden is a “terrific person I know him well, I like him. We’ve been friends for years. A moderate he has not been.”

Democrats Also Looking at Other Priorities

While congressional Democrats had already planned on resorting to “budget reconciliation,” a special, budget-linked procedure with a 51-vote threshold to pass parts of Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, the parliamentarian’s ruling opens the door to using it on certain other priorities.

Talks are swirling around an immigration overhaul that could provide a pathway to citizenship for some. There is also discussion about using the process to lower the Medicare retirement age from 65 to 60 and other agenda items.

Schumer’s office said no decisions have been made. Any action still involves wresting consensus from all 50 senators in the Democratic caucus, progressives and centrists alike, which could prove daunting. But spokesman Justin Goodman welcomed the parliamentarian’s opinion as “an important step forward that this key pathway is available to Democrats if needed.”

Using the budget rules to pass sweeping legislation on a party line vote is not new. Congress used the budget reconciliation process last month to approve Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue despite no Republican support.

Process is ‘Not New’

First used in 1980, the process has been employed most years since, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

In 2017, a Congress controlled by Republicans used budget reconciliation to approve the Trump-era GOP tax cuts on a party line vote. In 2010, Democrats used it for the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. George W. Bush relied on reconciliation twice to approve tax cuts, including once when Vice President Dick Cheney cast the tie breaking vote.

But the opinion by the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth McDonough, late Monday means the process can potentially be used multiple times this year — rather than just two or three times, as had been expected.

Typically, Congress has one budget resolution every fiscal year, or two each calendar year since the fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The parliamentarian signaled if the annual budget resolution is revised, the process can be used again.

That’s a quicker route to passage for certain Biden priorities than gutting the Senate filibuster, the long-running practice that some senators and critics say is a throw-back used by pro-segregationists to block Civil Rights legislation and should be changed.

The filibuster enables any single senator to object to consideration of legislation or other matters, and can usually only be overcome with a 60-vote threshold — a tall order in the now evenly split chamber.

Democrats hold the majority in the 50-50 Senate because the party’s vice president, Kamala Harris, can cast a tie-breaking vote.

Mixed Feelings About Filibuster Rules

While Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and other leading progressives have advocated changing the filibuster rules, more centrist Democrats including Joe Manchin of West Virginia are not on board.

Using the budget reconciliation could provide a short-term fix, but it is not without drawbacks. It involves a cumbersome process and sometimes all-night Senate sessions called “vote-a-ramas” as senators offer multiple amendments.

Moreover, the budget tools have other limits in that the proposals need to hew to budgetary guidelines, which means not all bills would qualify.

Already, the parliamentarian earlier this year rejected a proposal to hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of the COVID-19 package because it did not meet budgetary guidelines.

Voting rights, gun violence bills and other legislation would likely run into similar limits.

Those seeking changes to the filibuster rules welcomed the budget tool but said changes to the filibuster practice are still needed.

“It is great that Senate Democrats are going to be able to pass many of their economic priorities with a simple majority,” said Eli Zupnick of Fix our Senate, a group advocating filibuster changes.

But he said “that won’t be nearly enough if the filibuster remains as a tool.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

DON'T MISS

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

DON'T MISS

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

DON'T MISS

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

DON'T MISS

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

DON'T MISS

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

DON'T MISS

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

DON'T MISS

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

DON'T MISS

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

DON'T MISS

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

UP NEXT

Visalia Rollerblader Suffered Major Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Indicted for Possessing Stolen Guns

UP NEXT

On Elon Musk’s X, Dems Are an Endangered Species While GOP Goes Viral

UP NEXT

New Vehicles, Face Paint and a 1,200-Foot Fall: The US Army Prepares for War With China

UP NEXT

CNN Bars Pro-Trump Guest After His ‘Beeper’ Remark to Mehdi Hasan

UP NEXT

LGBTQ Supporters Drown Out Westboro Baptists’ Anti-Gay Message in Fresno

UP NEXT

The ‘Black Insurrectionist’ Was Actually White. The Deception Did Not Stop There

UP NEXT

Washington Post Says It Will Stop Endorsing Presidential Candidates

UP NEXT

What Happened When a Barber Told Trump About His $15,000 Electric Bill

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Times Editorials Editor Resigns After Newspaper Withholds Presidential Endorsement

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

10 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

11 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

22 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

23 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

23 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

23 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

24 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

24 hours ago

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

24 hours ago

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

1 day ago

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

Peanut butter is a childhood staple for many in the United States. Whether it’s a classic PB&J sandwich, a fluffernutter, cookies ...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

9 hours ago

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

9 hours ago

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

10 hours ago

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

11 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

22 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

23 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

23 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

Search

Send this to a friend