Type of Content
Approved Story
1
Format
Region
News Item Format
Standard
Democrats’ options to bypass the 60-vote threshold to overcome a Senate filibuster and pass legislation without Republican support just got more complicated.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough reportedly issued guidance to Senate staff on Friday that suggests Democrats could have another shot to pass a reconciliation bill, saying the framers of the modern budget process law did not intend the process to be used an indefinite number of times.
"The potential for abuse was clear in 1974 and is all the more obvious now," MacDonough wrote, according to Roll Call, adding that "overuse and over-reliance on a hyper-fast track procedure in the ordinarily deliberative Senate … will change the culture of the institution to the detriment of the committee and amendment processes and the rights of all Senators."