Christmas tree bill

Christmas tree bill is a term defined in the U.S. Senate glossary as “informal nomenclature for a bill on the Senate floor that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments. The amendments which adorn the bill may provide special benefits to various groups or interests.” As a form of criticism, the term is used to portray the deal-making process among legislators as the decoration of a bill with amendments to secure the support of a particular legislator, interest group, or constituency. For example, critics described the Disaster Assistance Act of 1989, Health Coverage Availability and Affordability Act of 1996, and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 as Christmas tree bills.

The origin of the term Christmas tree bill is attributed to Sen. Clinton Anderson (D), who critiqued the more than one hundred amendments to a farm bill in 1956: “This bill gets more and more like a Christmas tree,” Anderson said, “there’s something in it for nearly everyone.”

Uses

The term rider is often used interchangeably with amendment in the context of a Christmas tree bill. Lawmaking rules in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate require amendments to be “germane” to the subject of the parent bill to which it is being attached. However, as of 2021, the Senate interprets this rule more loosely than the House, and House rules prohibit riders from being attached to legislation.

Invoking the term Christmas tree bill generally puts a spotlight on a bill’s amendments. The Senate glossary defines a rider as “a nongermane amendment to a bill,” and one or more riders can be characterized as the ornaments on a Christmas tree bill.

Omnibus bills—the word derives from the Latin "omni," or "for all, everything"—are sometimes described as Christmas tree bills, as they pull together many legislative components under a single banner subject. These bills are used strategically, as legislators attach amendments and riders that otherwise may not garner legislative approval if left to stand on their own.

In many ways, omnibus legislation and Christmas tree bills are two sides of the same coin. One perspective sees the merits of omnibus legislation as efficient law-making accomplished (often under time pressures at the end of a session) by creatively and pragmatically assembling legislation with amendments and riders that keep government functioning. Another perspective sees legislative abuse, a practice of using broadly titled bills with many unrelated amendments and riders as vehicles for profligate spending and policy-making.

Favorable perspectives

Congress often considers a bill which critics might label a Christmas tree bill in the context of legislative deadlines and calendar pressure points. Amending a bill at the end of a legislative session, or just before extended breaks or holiday recesses, can be a strategy to accelerate the approval of a bill that has broad consensus. The result is a bill that is an end-of-session catch-all for policies, regulations, and fiscal measures that would otherwise not advance. In this light, a bill which critics might label a Christmas tree bill is the result of a legislative practice that keeps representative government from grinding to a halt.

One example of this tension is the $900 million emergency coronavirus relief and government spending bill approved by Congress in December 2020, which totaled 5,593 pages. Included in the bill was funding for coronavirus vaccine distribution, direct cash payments to American households, rental assistance, a ban on evictions, and small business loans. Critics of the legislation called it a Christmas tree bill, pointing to provisions for new Smithsonian museums and water infrastructure projects. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) emphasized the time pressures that Congress was operating under in assembling support for the bill: “Make no mistake about it. This agreement is far from perfect, but it will deliver emergency relief to a nation in the throes of a genuine emergency."

Unfavorable perspectives and strategies to prevent them

The main critique of Christmas tree bills is that they are the product of wasteful and undemocratic policy-making by legislative bodies. Those that put forth this critique have backed various rules and regulations intended to prevent this perceived waste and abuse.

One such rule is the line-item veto, which gives governors the authority to veto individual items in legislation. As of 2021, 44 states gave executives line-item veto power (Indiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont do not).

There has been a long debate at the federal level about instituting line-item veto powers. In 1876, President Ulysses Grant endorsed a proposed line-item veto. In his 1984 State of the Union Address, President Ronald Reagan (R) called the line-item veto a "powerful tool against wasteful and extravagant spending." Congress approved and President Bill Clinton (D) signed the Line-Item Veto Act into law in 1996. This bill gave the president the power to strike through individual spending provisions for the first time. Two years later, however, in Clinton v. City of New York (1998), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the line-item veto was outside the powers provided to the executive branch in the Constitution.

Another such rule is the single-subject rule, which requires legislation to address one main subject. (This single-subject rule is different from the single-subject rule rule applied to ballot measures.) As of 2021, 43 states have a single-subject rule in their constitutions.

Some state constitutions allow multi-subject, omnibus legislation through appropriations bills. Colorado’s state constitution, for example, says,

“

No bill, except general appropriation bills, shall be passed containing more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title; but if any subject shall be embraced in any act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be so expressed.

”

Kurt Bahr (R), a Minnesota state legislator, commenting in 2019 on a bill intended to strengthen the state’s single-subject rule, said the following: “The return of single-subject bills must come to pass. Voters need to be able to hold their legislators accountable. We, the elected officials, cannot be held accountable as long as omnibus bills exist. The Legislature is like a drug addict. We know we need to stop, but can’t.”

As of 2024, neither the U.S. Constitution nor the rules of the U.S. Congress include a single-subject rule.

Federal bills described as Christmas tree bills

The following three bills were described by critics as Christmas tree bills. Each section below provides a quote describing the bill as a Christmas tree bill, and links to another article on Ballotpedia which reproduces the full text of the legislation.

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

The American Rescue Plan was a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief spending bill approved by Congress (50–49 in the Senate, 220-211 in the House) and signed by President Joe Biden (D) in 2021. Economist Paul Krugman said that the legislation was, by necessity, a Christmas tree bill: “If you say, look, this is a Christmas tree bill. But it has to be, which is something actually I’ve been arguing on a number of fronts. . .If you were an econ 101 person, you’d say, let’s do this right. But if you try to think about the political reality, it’s going to have to be a Christmas tree. Otherwise, you’re not going to get even the essential stuff." Former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D) argued that the bill was not a Christmas tree bill. "If people see that it is an advancement of infrastructure and not like a Christmas tree bill for every other priority, I think that that will get a lot of traction," she said.

Click here to read the bill.

The Health Coverage and Affordability Act of 1996

This bill sought to improve portability of health insurance coverage and promote medical savings accounts. The bill was introduced into the House of Representatives in March 1996 but never came up for a vote on the floor. Rep. Jerry Costello (D), in a debate on the bill’s amendments, said: "Unfortunately, radical members of the majority conference have hijacked this bill and turned it into a special-interest Christmas tree, which could very well jeopardize its passage in the Congress. . .With the broad bipartisan support of this health insurance reform, it is a disgrace that the Republican leadership has sabotaged the enactment of this legislation by adding controversial provisions to the bill. Some Members in the Senate have suggested these provisions may end the chances of passage of this legislation."

Click here to read the bill.

Disaster Assistance Act of 1989

The 1989 Disaster Assistance Act was a bill intended to support farmers and ranchers facing crop and livestock losses during devastating droughts of 1989. Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D), in a debate over amendments to the bill, said: "There is less than $70 million to $80 million worth of differences. Both the Republicans and the Democrats on the Agriculture Committee recognize that we are within, at the moment, difficult budget times; and that we are not able to pass a bill that is essentially a Christmas tree bill trying to take care of all sorts of things."

Click here to read the bill.

State bills described as Christmas tree bills

The characterization of legislation as Christmas tree bills is not exclusive to the federal level. Below are examples at the state level of bills that have been described as Christmas tree bills.

• Ohio - HB507 (2023): "When first introduced in December 2021, Ohio's House Bill 507 was just over a page. All it did was amend an existing law dictating the minimum number of young chicks that could be sold in a group. By the time it arrived on Gov. DeWine’s desk, HB 507 was 42 pages long. [...] It's not unusual for lawmakers to attach small, unrelated, single-issue amendments to a bill moving through the legislature, especially towards the end of the year. In fact, the practice is so common in December bills that these bills have earned a nickname — Christmas tree bills."

• New Hampshire - HB2 (2021): "Every two years, it’s the mother of all political Christmas trees. That’s HB 2, the so-called 'trailer bill' to the state budget." - Kevin Landrigan, New Hampshire Union Leader

• Iowa - HF 2531 (2010): “The Legislature's annual ‘Christmas tree’ has fewer bulbs this year. For the second day this week, the House worked Wednesday hanging a few ornaments on the all-encompassing standings’ bill, House File 2531.” - James Lynch, Iowa Gazette

• Oregon - HB 5050 (2018): “‘It’s Christmas in July,’ said Oregon State Rep. Cedric Hayden (R). Hayden was referring to the bill’s colloquial term: the Christmas Tree bill. It’s a biennial tradition.” - Rep. Cedric Hayden (R)

• Georgia - SB 202 (2021): "It's like the Christmas tree of goodies for voter suppression." - State Sen. Jen Jordan (D)

• Nebraska - LB 507 (2021): “‘Christmas tree bill’ is legislative speak for a bill to which other bills are attached, like Christmas tree ornaments. In this case it was a bunch of landlord-tenant bills, one makes it easier for the victims of domestic violence to get out of leases.” - Fred Knapp, Nebraska Public Media

• North Dakota - HB 1431] (2021): “[North Dakota Gov.] Burgum, himself, had proposed a $1.25 billion bonding proposal before the Legislature convened in January. Leaders in the Republican-led Legislature largely ignored the idea and proposed a $1.1 billion bonding package themselves. But that amount too was whacked to $680 million after criticism among some lawmakers who believed it was attached to too many unnecessary extras, referred to as ‘Christmas tree’ items.” - James MacPherson, Associated Press

Usage in politics, popular culture

The term Christmas tree bill originated as early as the 1950s. Below are examples of its usage from the 1950s through the 2020s.

2020s

• Indiana Senate Democrats media release, February 24, 2020: "HB 1222 is a Christmas tree bill – decorated with so many amendments it would put the Monument Circle Tree to shame. This bill takes away local control of the election process and leaves schools flying blind right when it’s time to begin writing their budgets. If HB 1222 is passed into law, this attack on local governments will bring nothing but pain for Hoosiers in small towns and beyond."

• Ann Logue, Yahoo Finance writer, December 22, 2020: “A ‘Christmas tree bill,’ in legislative circles, is one that includes a lot of little items tangentially related to the point of the law. The $900 billion stimulus package, passed just three days before most Christian denominations celebrate Christmas, definitely fits the theme of the season: The document was over 5,000 pages long and there was apparently trouble uploading the large file, causing a printer delay.”

• Rep. Marcy Kaptur (R), December 21, 2020: Kaptur entitled her remarks submitted to the Congressional Record as “The 2020 Christmas Tree Bill,” cautioning against the growth of the US trade deficit and national debt. Notably, the body of her comments make no reference to any amendments or other traditional features of Christmas tree bills.

• Jeremy Pelzer, Cleveland writer, November 18, 2020: "Then, of course, there’s the coronavirus, which has spiked to record levels of new cases in recent days. While Gov. Mike DeWine has taken the lead to take steps to fight the coronavirus (including, most recently, a renewed statewide mask mandate), the Republican-dominated legislature is focusing on reining in the governor’s COVID restrictions and helping businesses survive the pandemic. And there are lots more, smaller issues as well -- many of which will likely be passed via a single, massive (and still to-be-determined) ‘Christmas tree’ bill.’"

• Sen. Joni Ernst (R), March 24, 2020: "This phase 3 relief package is not and will not be a ‘Christmas tree' bill. In fact, folks, it has been the product of hours and hours of bipartisan negotiations from five different groups. Those working groups have worked late into the night and over the weekend to come up with a good bill for the American people.”

• Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer writer, November 17, 2020: “The bill was slated for a hearing in House Federalism Committee Wednesday, but it was canceled Tuesday. Chairman John Becker, R-Union Township in Clermont County described the proposed legislation as a ‘Christmas tree bill’ for public safety. ‘There's actually quite a few ornaments hanging on this tree,’ said Becker, who hopes to pass the bill out of committee after Thanksgiving. [Toby Hoover, founder of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence] said this overhaul of Ohio gun laws should be subject to public's scrutiny. But she's come to expect quickly passed proposals in the final months of the legislative session from Ohio's GOP-controlled Legislature. ‘This one is everything they wanted for Christmas, I guess,’ she said.”

2010s

• Jim Craven, Oregon lobbyist, July 4, 2009: "I've seen 'em hand out the Christmas tree bill at 11 at night, then pass it an hour later and go home."

• Frank Clemente, Executive Director of Americans for Tax Fairness, December 23, 2014: “Congress needs to make a New Year’s resolution: Future tax legislation should not be like a Christmas tree with glitzy ornaments that are expensive gifts for corporations and their lobbyists. That’s not what Americans want — and it’s not what they should get.”

• Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston Globe writer, December 19, 2017: “President Donald Trump has described the Republican-crafted tax bill that is expected to be passed in Congress this week as ‘a great big, beautiful Christmas present.’ ‘This is going to be one of the great Christmas gifts to middle-income people,’ Trump said of the tax cuts Saturday, many of which expire in 2025. However, some experts say the bill is more like a Christmas tree. While the changes in the tax code will certainly be a gift to some Americans, the reason the bill is drawing comparisons to a festively decorated evergreen has more to do with, well, ornaments.”

• Claire Withycombe and Aubrey Wieber, Corvallis Gazette-Times writers, July 2, 2019: “In one of the final steps of the 2019 Legislature, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a massive bill to deliver about $1.32 billion to projects across the state, from Clackamas to Harney counties. One of the least controversial bills to pass this session, it was released less than a week before lawmakers went home for the year. ‘It’s Christmas in July,’ said Rep. Cedric Hayden, R-Roseburg. Hayden was referring to the bill’s colloquial term: the Christmas Tree bill. It’s a biennial tradition. The bill, line by line, appropriates money for projects in nearly every legislative district in the state — a catalog of political favors. It gives money to nearly 100 projects that will help local districts, plus bolsters many more statewide initiatives.”

• George Leef, Forbes writer, January 29, 2016: “The United States Constitution, however, has no provision that limits bills to a single subject. Consequently, we get the phenomenon of the ‘Christmas Tree’ bill – a bill that starts with a single subject but soon becomes adorned with numerous irrelevant provisions that are added to buy the support of legislators who in turn are buying the support of interest groups.”

2000s

• The West Wing, Season 2, Episode 17, “The Stackhouse Filibuster,” March 14, 2001:

Donna: “Did Senator Stackhouse ask you to meet with one of his aides?”

Josh: “Yes.”

Donna: “Because, I don't have it down.”

Josh: “Yeah, I'm not taking it.”

Donna: “Why?”

Josh: “He wants an amendment added to the Family Wellness Act that will allocate funding for autism care and research.”

Donna: “And we don't want to?”

Josh: “This is what's called a Christmas tree bill - everyone hangs amendments on it - we just closed it this morning. We try and hang a star on top --”

Donna: “The tree topples over and it doesn't pass.”

• Rea Hederman, The Heritage Foundation, January 24, 2008: “Like most legislation, the stimulus bill is likely to become increasingly expensive as it makes its way through Congress. Lawmakers sensing a ‘Christmas tree’ bill are likely to each demand their own spending ornaments in exchange for their votes. As sound economic policies take a backseat to political expediency, taxpayers will be left funding a massive increase in government (and future taxes) that does little to stimulate economic growth. To avoid that scenario, responsible lawmakers must draw a line in the sand and reject any new spending initiatives from being added on the House and Senate floors."

1990s

• Rep. John Dingell (D), March 28, 1996: “We can pass a bill that makes health insurance portable and prohibits discrimination or restrictions because of pre-existing conditions. This simple bill would help 25 million Americans. Another provision in this bill on the tax deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed would help 3 million Americans. We could pass that bill, sail it through the Senate, and have it on the President’s desk for signature tonight. Instead, we’re going to be voting on a Christmas tree bill adorned with ornaments for various special interests. And like a Christmas tree, it’s soon going to be put out on the lawn for garbage pickup.”

• Rep. Jerry Costello (D), March 29, 1996: "Unfortunately, radical members of the majority conference have hijacked this bill and turned it into a special-interest Christmas tree, which could very well jeopardize its passage in the Congress. . .With the broad bipartisan support of this health insurance reform, it is a disgrace that the Republican leadership has sabotaged the enactment of this legislation by adding controversial provisions to the bill. Some Members in the Senate have suggested these provisions may end the chances of passage of this legislation."

1980s

• David Stockman, Budget Director under President Ronald Reagan (R), November 22, 1981: "I think we're in trouble on the tax bill,’ he said in mid-June, ‘because we started with the position that this was a policy-based bill . . . that we weren't going to get involved in the tax-bill brokering of special-interest claims. But then we made the compromise . . . My fear now is that, if we do that too many times, it becomes clear to the whole tax-lobby constituency in Washington that we will deal with them one at a time, and then you'll find their champions on the tax-writing committees, especially Finance, swinging into action, and we are going to end up back-pedaling so fast that we will have the 'Christmas tree' bill before we know it."

• Sen. Bob Kerrey (D), July 25, 1989: "There is less than $70 million to $80 million worth of differences. Both the Republicans and the Democrats on the Agriculture Committee recognize that we are within, at the moment, difficult budget times; and that we are not able to pass a bill that is essentially a Christmas tree bill trying to take care of all sorts of things."

1970s

• Sen. William Saxbe (R), December 22, 1970: “I am aware that advocacy of increased taxation is unpopular. That is why the 1969 tax reform legislation became transformed into what is known as a Christmas tree bill, something in it for everybody, and provided for basically tax reduction rather than true reform. I felt that to support the bill and the amendments was to avoid my responsibility to my constituents. That is one reason I voted as I did.”

• Sen. Russell Long (D), December 14, 1974: “Again, the reason why we seek to invoke cloture is that a bill of this sort can then attract so many additional amendments, some of which have not been the subject of the hearings but which have been approved at one time or another by the Senate or the House, or amendments which have a great deal of logic to recommend them, that the bill will then be accused of being a Christmas tree bill. It may be accused of that anyhow because there are seven amendments on it, but I think that would be rather unfair. As the floor manager of the original Christmas tree bill, I think we had about 100 amendments on that one. We would hope that these few provisions could be passed because they have merit, they are important to the economy, and we have restrained ourselves in not recommending many other very fine provisions that the House recommended in their bill."

1960s

• New York Times, April 24, 1967: “The whole messy procedure bears an un-seemly resemblance to the Senate's tax antics last fall, when it finally approved a long overdue proposal to provide fairer treatment for foreign investors only after adding a long string of dubious amendments that earned it the title of the "Christmas Tree Bill."

• Sen. Russell Long (D), April 25, 1967: "I have not voted for a single amendment that is not, in my judgment, an amendment which has merit and which deserves the consideration of the Senate, of the House of Representatives, and of a conference committee of the two Houses. I have voted for similar amendments on other occasions. I have voted for them on their own merits. But when a Senator brings in an amendment I am against, and offers it as an extraneous amendment on this bill, my reaction is, 'Very well, if you want to make another Christmas tree bill out of this one, so be it. Bring in your baubles.'"

• Sen. Russell Long (D), July 14, 1969: “Recognizing how the House insists on its prerogatives to initiate revenue bills, and recognizing also that some people object to a Christmas tree bill--not that I do particularly--always thought a Christmas tree bill is a bill that would pick up amendments, this would not be that definition, this would be a big bill picking up amendments, so it would be something that it is a big enough horse to carry almost any rider I would think, and if the Senators wanted to they could offer anything except a Constitutional amendment on this bill.”

• President Gerald Ford (R), December 12, 1969: “On tax reform, the Senate has gone far beyond the sound, reasonable House-approved bill and has produced a Christmas tree bill loaded with political goodies. They have taken a tax reform bill and turned it into an irresponsible tax relief bill.”

1950s

• Time Magazine, March 26, 1956: “For 18 days U.S. Senators had wrangled about the farm bill, introducing more than a hundred amendments, rejecting 31 and adopting 21. At the end of last week, with some 60 amendments to go, New Mexico's Democratic Senator Clinton P. Anderson looked at the result and said: ‘This bill gets more and more like a Christmas tree; there's something on it for nearly everyone.’"

See also

• United States Congress
• United States Senate
• United States House of Representatives
• American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
• H Rept 104-497—Health Coverage Availability and Affordability Act of 1996
• HR 2467—Disaster Assistance Act of 1989

External links

• U.S. Senate Glossary

Footnotes

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