So this appears to be the final word on the budget reconciliation (i.e. “fast track”) process for the 2010 budget that we’ve been following. Here is the language from the version of S.Con.Res 13 which passed House and Senate yesterday:

TITLE II—RECONCILIATION

SEC. 201. RECONCILIATION IN THE SENATE.

  1. Committee on Finance- The Senate Committee on Finance shall report changes in laws within its jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
  2. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions- The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions shall report changes in laws within its jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
  3. Submissions- In the Senate, not later than October 15, 2009, the Senate committees named in subsections (a) and (b) shall submit their recommendations to the Senate Committee on the Budget. Upon receiving all such recommendations, the Senate Committee on the Budget shall report to the Senate a reconciliation bill carrying out all such recommendations without any substantive revision.

SEC. 202. RECONCILIATION IN THE HOUSE.

  1. Health Care Reform-
    1. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce shall report changes in laws to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
    2. The House Committee on Ways and Means shall report changes in laws to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
    3. The House Committee on Education and Labor shall report changes in laws to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
  2. Investing in Education- The House Committee on Education and Labor shall report changes in laws to reduce the deficit by $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
  3. Submissions- In the House, not later than October 15, 2009, the House committees named in subsections (a) and (b) shall submit their recommendations to the House Committee on the Budget. Upon receiving all such recommendations, the House Committee on the Budget shall report to the House a reconciliation bill carrying out all such changes without any substantive revision.

The bad news: reconcilliation is in for to major policy initiatives - health care reform and education reform. Major policy initiatives should not be “fast tracked” via a budget vehicle.

The good news:

  • Energy policy has successfully been removed from reconciliation. This was a difference between the House and Senate versions that I noted earlier, and the Senate version prevailed in Congress.
  • Reconciliation has been deferred until Oct 15, keeping the Democrats from ramrodding policy changes through. Oct 15 is actually after the start of the 2010 fiscal year (the fiscal year starts Oct 1), so this is actually in the area of “get something passed or we’re unfunded” games.

No Republicans in either house voted for the budget resolution, and a small number of Democrats voted against it. The Senate vote was actually very close - 53 Ayes, with 50 needed to pass. Sigh.

The bottom line on reconciliation seems to be - it could have been a lot worse, and there were enough Senate Democrats sticking to their guns to get it toned down, if not killed completely. I would consider that a (small) net win.