Congressional Quarterly reports that Senate Democrats may choose to use a budget procedure aimed at quickly moving legislation in order to make changes to Medicare provisions during this session of Congress.
The procedure, known as reconciliation, is used in budget resolutions to quickly move a bill toward a final vote. If utilized, this process includes instructions within the budget resolution that call upon relevant committees to draft the recommended legislation. The measure could then go to the Senate floor for limited debate (usually around 20 hours) while excluding all non-germane amendments. According to Congressional Quarterly, use of this procedure would also allow Democrats to have a simple majority vote on their bill.
The main Medicare provision in need of modification this year is one that would give a 10.6% payment cut to doctors. Senate Republicans fear that the need for this patch may lead Democratic members to propose more sweeping changes to the overall program.
This comes as majority members continue to condemn Republicans for stalling their efforts to move legislation forward. Democrats have made refuted claims that Republican members have set new records in their use of the stalling tactic known as the “filibuster.” Republican members, while refuting these claims, often cite the implementation of unfair procedures and amendment requirements as their reasoning for holding bills up.
The decision on whether to use this reconciliation process will come when Senate and House members conference over their two versions of the budget resolution. The House bill currently contains such provisions while the Senate bill does not.
