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Media Lies to Prevent Budget Reconciliation Process
Using reconciliation to pass major policy goals would be an unusual or unprecedented tactic
Media figures and outlets have advanced the falsehood that the Democrats' potential implementation of the budget reconciliation process, which would allow Congress to pass "policy changes in mandatory spending (entitlements) or revenue programs (tax laws)" by a simple majority in both Houses, is unusual, unprecedented, or was not recently used by Republicans. A March 31 article in The Hill, for instance, pointed to "GOP critics" claiming that the reconciliation process "was never intended to ram through major legislation" but did not mention that Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to pass several major Bush initiatives, as The New York Times and the blog Think Progress have noted. Similarly, Fox News correspondent Molly Henneberg made the false claim on the March 27 edition of Special Report that "[r]econciliation was last used in 2001 by Republicans to pass the first Bush tax cuts" -- an "error" for which her colleague Bret Baier later "apologize[d]," noting that Republicans had in fact used reconciliation more recently. Indeed, Republicans used the process to pass Bush's initiatives throughout his tenure, including the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, and the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005.
Additionally, Hannity falsely claimed on March 20 that reconciliation would allow the Obama administration to pass legislation "without any Republicans even having an opportunity to vote." In fact, the budget reconciliation process does not deny Republicans or any member of Congress "an opportunity to vote." According to the House Rules Committee's description of the budget reconciliation process, the version of reconciliation legislation agreed to during the conference process is then "brought back to the full House and Senate for a vote on final passage. Approval of the conference agreement on the reconciliation legislation must be by a majority vote of both Houses."
- Media Matters
