Civic Register
| 9.20.21
Senate Parliamentarian Rules Against Democrats' Plan to Include Immigration Reform in Reconciliation Spending Bill
How do you feel about the parliamentarian’s ruling?
What’s the story?
- Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on Sunday ruled against Democrats’ plan to use the budget reconciliation process to pass immigration reforms, including a pathway to legal permanent resident (LPR) status and eventually citizenship for millions of unauthorized immigrants.
- MacDonough ruled that Democrats’ plan to include the immigration overhaul in the reconciliation bill violated the “Byrd rule” requirement that provisions be germane to fiscal policy and not include items with a budgetary impact that is merely incidental to the impact of the policy change being legislated. Democrats had argued that the increased spending on social spending stemming from the expanded eligibility for such programs was sufficient to meet that threshold.
- She explained in her opinion that Democrats’ plan “is a policy change that substantially outweighs the budgetary impact” and that:
“LPR status would give these persons freedom to work, freedom to travel, freedom to live openly in our society in any state in the nation, and to reunite with their families and it would make them eligible, in time, to apply for citizenship ― things for which there is no federal fiscal equivalent. Changing the law to clear the way to LPR status is a tremendous and enduring policy change that dwarfs its budgetary impact.”
- The Senate parliamentarian’s office has put forward several notable rulings during the current Congress, including a ruling against a Democratic effort to enact a national $15 minimum wage requirement by using reconciliation. It also found that a budget resolution can be revised and updated to allow its reuse under the reconciliation process, but that Congress go back through the committee process, hold an amendment vote-a-rama in the Senate, and hold a full floor debate to consider it.
- The Senate’s Democratic majority could in theory vote to overrule the parliamentarian’s ruling if all 50 senators agreed along with Vice President Kamala Harris, but they lack the votes to do so.
- Moderate Democratic including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) view a vote to overrule the parliamentarian and create a new precedent as being akin to eliminating the legislative filibuster which requires 60 votes to limit debate on non-reconciliation bills.
- They argue that eliminating the legislative filibuster through a new precedent would result in each party taking turns using the process to broaden the reconciliation carve out for non-budgetary items to be enacted along party-lines with simple majorities in the Senate, causing the pendulum of public policy to swing more widely.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the ruling “was extremely disappointing. It saddened me. It frustrated me. It angered me.” He added that Democratic senators have prepared alternate proposals and may bring them to the parliamentarian in search of another way to do immigration reform in reconciliation.
What is the “Byrd rule”?
- Named after the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), who led the adoption of the rule in 1985 in response to Congress using reconciliation for non-fiscal policy items, the Byrd rule prohibits the inclusion of extraneous, non-germane policies in reconciliation bills.
- Under the Byrd rule, a provision is deemed extraneous if:
- The provision doesn’t change spending or tax revenues;
- Increases in spending and decreases in revenues aren’t in compliance with committee instructions;
- A provision is outside the committee’s jurisdiction;
- Spending or revenue changes are incidental to non-budgetary parts of a provision;
- The deficit would increase beyond the “budget window” covered by the bill (the budget window includes the current fiscal year and has to cover at least the four following years, but may cover 11 or more total fiscal years); and
- It makes changes to Social Security.
- Violations of the Byrd rule are determined by the Senate parliamentarian and Senate Budget Committee staff in a review process known as the “Byrd bath” ― while senators can raise a point of order against provisions they believe to be non-compliant. Lawmakers can remove provisions that violate the rule (known as “Byrd droppings”) from the final bill, or they can vote to waive the rule which requires 60 votes in the Senate.
RELATED READING
- What is Budget Reconciliation? (8/13/21)
- Should Democrats’ Reconciliation Bill for Infrastructure Include Immigration Reforms? (7/10/21)
- Senate Parliamentarian Issues Ruling Allowing Democrats to Reuse Reconciliation - What Does it Mean? (4/7/21)
- Senate Parliamentarian Rules Against Democrats’ $15 Minimum Wage Policy in COVID-19 Relief Bill (2/25/21)
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: ray_explores via Flickr / Creative Commons)
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Immigration issues should be addressed separately. It is a complex issue that deserves discussion and serious consideration, not snuck in as some little appendage.
All of these old white guys need voted out or removed from office. This is AMERICA! Full of every race, colors and religions that need proper and appropriate representation for everyone! This coming from an old white woman.
very sad! We need to fix this.
We have enough to deal with in this Society trying to get our Citizens to move forward in the right direction. Adding immigrants to the frying pan only pushes our citizens back by having to provide for them and their families. Why can't we supply the resources they need to flourish in their own economy and live productively. We are squeezing more people into our society and making it hard to move around with our own citizens. Mixture is great, but it's also a problem in some ways don't cheat us out of our benefits to provide for others. Give them the resources they need that they are looking to seek over here. Stop cheating us to provide for others!!
Not at all surprised by this decision, but I am very disappointed. The humanitarian crisis happening at the border with Haitian asylum seekers proves the United States needs to reform the immigration system and provide pathways to citizenship to the many undocumented people in this country.
The Parliamentarian "ruling" is not legally binding. It's an antiquated position that is a roadblock to passing legislation. It's way past time to get rid of the Parliamentarian and the filibuster. Focus on passing legislation that benefits working people, not just the corporations.
Great Call...Tired of Democrats sneaking something ike immigration reform in this bill..Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
The immigration issue is huge. How bad does it have to get before Congress works for comprehensive reforms to fix this broken down and pathetic "system"? Doing nothing is not making things better. The crowds at the border have no homes left to go back to.
Spend. Spend spend that’s all the Democratic Party knows how to do spend American money on foreigners while letting the Americas pay for it all. It’s people have not even been properly knows what kind of people they are letting into our country to become your neighbor or mine . Terrorists murderers rapists drug dealers who knows .no I do not agree with this.
What is wrong with Democrats? Need anyone ask? We are being educated on a daily basis. We will remember and vote according!
Talk, talk, talk…with no meaningful movement on immigration reform. A solution is far overdue. Immigrants are the backbone of the US. Get over it. What is driving the anti-immigrant push is a racist ideology that fears people who are different. Immigrants contribute more than they get. They work at various jobs (is anyone paying attention to the difficulty employers are having hiring?); they pay taxes; they are honest hard working people. We have to get to the core racist ideology that is driving republicans. Immigrants ARE part of our cultural, social, and economic infrastructure. Find a way to pass a permanent and meaningful immigration bill/executive orde, or something. Even previous republican presidents have granted amnesty.
As a lifelong registered Democrat, I will explain my NO vote this way. A trend by the Democratic party to maintain the disenfranchisement politically, economically, and educationally, of Black people in this country, more than any other ethnicity is continually denied full citizenship and excess to capital and justice. The blatant deportation of Pan Afrikans (Haitians)with a history of forcing the French to sell 1/4 of what is now the USA is being deported.
You dumb asses! I’m sick of supporting Democrats that won’t fight fire with fire!!!
Technically, the Senate parliamentarians determination may be correct. That does not mean that it is right. The Senate Republican Faction will not pass immigration reform nor will they let House Bills on immigration reform to even be debated in the Senate. This is the great evil of the filibuster. None of the Republican Faction Senators have to go on the record to face the electorate with their inhumane actions; They can hide behind the one-and-done filibuster as they protect their benefactors to the disadvantage of the people and they continue to argue that the Democrats cannot get anything done. … … … This is not Democracy where people vote for their representatives based upon what they have accomplished, since they have accomplished nothing except to protect their Faction and cover their tracks so their unethical actions cannot be clearly visible; so they never can be clearly held to account for their treachery.
We have an obligation to protect our fellow man. The republicaNAZI party has violated the Geneva convention with regard to refugees and defunded immigration to make it almost impossible for them to seek citizenship legally. ALL OF AMERICAN HISTORY has shown that immigration helps the nation, but the NAZI party that used to be republican gets its NAZI followers to treat them as invaders. The reason for their fear-mongering is they are racist and are terrified of other skin colors and religions taking away their majority.
This person is unelected and should therefore NOT wield such power!
This was a terrible ruling & must be reversed. Civil rights depend on it. Plus it's the right thing to do.
Legal immigration is no problem. But, what is happening on our southern border is beyond acceptable. The Biden administration has willingly destroyed the safety of every citizen of the United States. Truthfully I don't see how anyone in America could vote for a Democrat for any office. Even more, I don't understand how anyone with a decent moral code could vote for a Democrat. VOTE GOP. EVERY TIME. ALL THE TIME.
Regardless of the parliamentarian's ruling on immigration/reconciliation, the underlying and more important question is why the Democrats were asking to use that process. The answer of course is that the Republicans refuse to do anything to help the American people, to help DACA recipients, to help refugees, or to do anything whatsoever. The Republicans are content to sit on their fat asses and collect a paycheck while just saying 'no' to anything that might in the teensiest possible way make Biden or the Democrats look good. I am so sick Republicans. We need to be rid of these do-nothings and replace them with representatives who truly want to serve their constituents.
the right wing republicans need to stop listening to old white men billionaires and special interests and listen to the majority of americans who we voted for