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Congressional Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2022

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This page covers the initial $3.5 trillion budget proposal introduced in August 2021. Click here for coverage of the Build Back Better Act.


The Congressional Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2022 was a resolution under consideration by the 117th Congress. On October 28, a revised version of the initial budget was released as the Build Back Better Act. To read more about the Build Back Better Act, click here.

Democrats proposed a $3.5 trillion budget framework in July 2021 for spending on childcare, family leave, healthcare, and climate change.[1][2] To read the full text of the resolution, click here. Key spending included the following initiatives:[3]

  • $726 billion to address universal pre-K, childcare, and higher education
  • $107 billion to address a pathway to legal status for certain individuals residing in the U.S. without legal permission
  • $135 billion to address forest fires, carbon emission levels, and droughts
  • $332 billion to address public housing and affordability issues
  • $198 billion to address clean energy development

The Senate agreed to the resolution on August 11, 2021, by a vote of 50-49, following a vote-a-rama session with 43 roll calls. All 48 Democrats and the two independents who caucus with the Democrats supported the resolution. No Republican backed the resolution.[4]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) initially said in August that she would not take up the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 in the House until the budget resolution was adopted.[5] She later scheduled and deferred several votes on the infrastructure bill at the end of September as Congress debated the content of both measures. Click here to read more about the dual track for the budget and infrastructure bills.

This page provides the following information about the budget resolution:

Details of the resolution

Text of the resolution

The following resolution was submitted on August 9, 2021.

Congressional action

Timeline

The following section provides an abbreviated timeline of key actions related to the initial $3.5 trillion budget resolution:[4]

  • August 11, 2021: The Senate agreed to the resolution by a vote of 50-49.
  • August 10-11, 2021: The Senate held a vote-a-rama session with 43 roll calls.
  • August 9, 2021: The resolution was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Guidance from the Senate parliamentarian

See also: Senate Parliamentarian

On September 19, 2021, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that incorporating a pathway to citizenship into the initial $3.5 trillion budget resolution was not appropriate. She said, "The policy changes of this proposal far outweigh the budgetary impact scored to it and it is not appropriate for inclusion in reconciliation."[6]

Vote-a-rama

See also: Vote-a-ramas in the U.S. Senate

As part of the budget reconciliation process in the U.S. Senate, senators are allowed to propose amendments to the reconciliation bill after the debate period has ended. Senators briefly explain the amendment before the Senate proceeds to a roll call with a 10-minute duration. This process, sometimes called the vote-a-rama, has no procedural limit on the number of amendments that can be proposed.[7]

During the vote-a-rama for the initial $3.5 trillion budget resolution, 43 roll call votes were held on August 10-11, 2021.[4][8]

Reconciliation process

See also: Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress

Budget reconciliation was created by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under the act, reconciliation can be used on legislation that changes the federal debt limit, revenue, or spending. As it relates to spending, reconciliation can be used to consider changes in spending on entitlement programs with the exception of Social Security. Because appropriations under mandatory spending are typically codified, amendments to those laws are often required. Reconciliation has not been used to change 'discretionary' spending because the process to modify discretionary spending is typically addressed through the annual budgetary process.

Connection to infrastructure bill

See also: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021

Overview

The initial $3.5 trillion budget resolution was working through Congress parallel with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which the Senate passed on August 10, 2021, by a vote of 60-39. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she would not take up the infrastructure bill until the budget resolution had passed. Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus also indicated that they would not support the infrastructure bill before the budget resolution.[9][10]

Nine House Democrats countered Pelosi, saying in a letter on August 12 that they would not consider supporting the budget plan until the infrastructure bill was made law. The letter was signed by the following representatives:[9]


With three vacancies in the House, Democrats had a 220-212 majority in the chamber.

On August 24, the House agreed to a resolution to advance both the initial $3.5 trillion budget and infrastructure bills by a party-line vote of 220-212. The resolution also advanced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and set September 27 as the deadline to consider the infrastructure bill.[11][12] That deadline was later extended through October 31.[13]


Intraparty disagreement prior to the approval of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021

Progressive Democrats in both chambers urged party leadership to prioritize the budget reconciliation bill over the infrastructure bill. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on September 21, 2021, that she and members of her caucus would vote against the infrastructure bill if the budget bill was not passed first.[14] She added that Congress should postpone the infrastructure vote because Congress needed more time to come to an agreement on the reconciliation bill.[15]

Eleven senators, including Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), issued a joint statement on September 22, 2021, calling for party leadership to continue with the plan to pass the budget bill before the infrastructure bill. They said, "Congress must not undercut the president’s proposals that will create new opportunities for America’s families and workers."[16]

Moderate Democrats criticized the size and scope of the initial $3.5 trillion budget bill. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) said, "It would have to be way under $1 trillion for me to get remotely interested."[17] Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) similarly said, "“[W]hile I will support beginning this process, I do not support a bill that costs $3.5 trillion."[18]

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal opposing the initial $3.5 trillion budget bill. "Establishing an artificial $3.5 trillion spending number and then reverse-engineering the partisan social priorities that should be funded isn’t how you make good policy," Manchin said.[19]

On October 28, a revised version of the initial $3.5 trillion budget bill was released as the Build Back Better Act. Regarding the revised bill, Manchin said "I’ve worked on good faith and I look forward to continuing to work in good faith," and Sinema said negotiations "have made significant progress on the proposed budget reconciliation package."[20] Jayapal released a statement saying: "Congress needs to finish the job and bring both bills to a vote together. This cannot be accomplished without legislative text [for the Build Back Better Act] that can be fully assessed and agreed upon by all parties."[21]

Pelosi deferred the infrastructure vote from the initial deadline of September 27 to September 30. She said in an interview, “I’m never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn’t have the votes." Jayapal said she believed there were around 60 votes against the bill if it went to the floor before the budget bill passed.[22][23] That deadline was later extended through October 31.

Key legislation during Biden administration

This section provides links to coverage of key federal legislation considered during the Biden administration. To be included, the bill must have met several of the following qualifying factors:

  • Collaboration between the president and congressional leadership on the bill
  • Use of the reconciliation process to pass the bill
  • Changes to the congressional procedure to pass the bill
  • Estimated cost of the bill as evaluated by the Congressional Budget Office
  • Extent of public relations campaign to promote the bill
  • Domestic and international policy ramifications

Legislation in the 118th Congress

Legislation in the 117th Congress

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Senate Democrats, "TRANSCRIPT: Schumer, Sanders, Warner Announce Budget Committee Agreement On Budget Resolution To Make Biggest Investment In The Middle Class In Decades, Address Climate Crisis And More," July 13, 2021
  2. ↑ Senate Democrats, "FY2022 Budget Resolution Toplines," August 9, 2021
  3. ↑ NPR, "Senate Democrats Roll Child Care And Immigration Into A $3.5T Budget Framework," August 9, 2021
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Congress.gov, "S.Con.Res.14 - A concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2022 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2023 through 2031," accessed August 11, 2021
  5. ↑ The New York Times, "House progressives won’t vote for the infrastructure bill unless the Senate approves $3.5 trillion in other spending," August 10, 2021
  6. ↑ The Hill, "Senate parliamentarian nixes Democrats' immigration plan," September 19, 2021
  7. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Budget Reconciliation Process: Stages of Consideration," January 25, 2021
  8. ↑ Senate.gov, "Vote-a-ramas (1977 to Present)," accessed August 13, 2021
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Politico, "9 Dems threaten mutiny over Pelosi’s budget plan," August 13, 2021
  10. ↑ The New York Times, "House progressives won’t vote for the infrastructure bill unless the Senate approves $3.5 trillion in other spending," August 10, 2021
  11. ↑ CNN, "House approves $3.5 trillion budget plan in key step for Democrats to pass legislation expanding social safety net," August 24, 2021
  12. ↑ House Clerk, "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 258," accessed August 24, 2021
  13. ↑ The Hill, "Pelosi sets end-of-October deadline for infrastructure vote," October 2, 2021
  14. ↑ CNN, "Progressives say they plan to vote against bipartisan infrastructure bill next week," September 21, 2021
  15. ↑ The Hill, "Jayapal says Sept. 27 vote on infrastructure is 'arbitrary deadline,'" September 22, 2021
  16. ↑ The Hill, "11 senators urge House to pass $3.5T package before infrastructure bill," September 22, 2021
  17. ↑ Roll Call, "Moderate Democrats not monolithic about their budget concerns," September 21, 2021
  18. ↑ The Washington Post, "Joe Manchin gets all the attention. But Kyrsten Sinema could be an even bigger obstacle for Democrats’ spending plans," September 15, 2021
  19. ↑ Wall Street Journal, "Why I Won’t Support Spending Another $3.5 Trillion," September 2, 2021
  20. ↑ The Hill, "Manchin, Sinema sidestep saying if they support Biden framework," October 28, 2021
  21. ↑ Congressional Progressive Caucus, "Congressional Progressive Caucus Statement Regarding Vote on Infrastructure Bill and Build Back Better Act," October 28, 2021
  22. ↑ The New York Times, "Pelosi Announces Vote on $1 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill," September 26, 2021
  23. ↑ The Washington Post, "Pelosi punts infrastructure bill as progressives claim 60 votes against it," September 27, 2021
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