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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Said on Sunday Democrats would pass a COVID-19 relief package through reconciliation, a special process that allows for a 51-majority vote, rather than the 60 votes normally required to advance the legislation, if Republicans don’t quickly voice support for the $ 1.9 trillion bill.
Sanders, the new chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that unlike Republicans who used reconciliation to pass a reduction bill. taxes and attempt to repeal Obamacare, Democrats will use 50 votes in the Senate, plus the decisive vote of Vice President Kamala Harris, to “pass legislation that working families in this country desperately need now.”
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“If Republicans are prepared to work with us to resolve this crisis, welcome – let’s do it. But what we can’t do is wait weeks, weeks and months to move forward. We have to act. now. That’s what Americans want, “Sanders told CNN presenter Dana Bash.
“These are major political changes, and I criticized Republicans for using reconciliation to give tax breaks worth billions of dollars to create a situation where large, profitable companies now pay no federal income tax. Yeah, I criticized them for that, ”Sanders said. “And if they want to criticize me for helping feed the hungry children – or the isolated and lonely elderly who don’t have enough food, they can criticize me. I think that’s the right way to go. before appropriate. “
Sanders, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, said the Senate must break the “old approach” that it could take years to do anything, arguing that “we don’t have time to sit down for weeks on impeachment and not to get vaccinated. in people’s arms. “
“We can chew gum and walk at the same time. The American people are suffering and they want us to act. That is why our candidates ran for this election,” Sanders said, saying it is the reason Democrats narrowly brought the Senate back. “This is what the guys in Georgia won and we need to reaffirm the faith in the American people in the government that we can respond to their pain.”
Reconciliation provides an expedited process for reviewing bills to implement the policy choices embodied in Congress’ annual budget resolution. Unlike other bills, reconciliation bills cannot be blocked by a filibuster and only need a simple majority in the Senate, instead of the usual 60-vote super-majority.
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This means that in the currently split 50-50 Senate, newly sworn in Harris would vote the decisive 51st vote to give Democrats the thinnest majority. Special rules have been devised to protect the rights of the minority party.
Sanders has signaled his willingness to legislate without GOP support using this special process reserved for tax and tax matters. The first test could be Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief legislation, which is the top priority of the new Democratic administration.
Biden’s COVID-19 proposal also includes a provision to increase the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour, funding for vaccines, money for schools, and state and local governments – priorities that may not not enter into the rules of budget reconciliation. Democrats may be required to pick up GOP votes or find a compromise for a smaller package with bipartisan support.
During the 115th Congress, Republicans used reconciliation twice to pursue their political goals, according to a report from the House Budget Committee released in October 2020.
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In the final months of 2017, the House and Senate approved a reconciliation measure to cut taxes, mostly for the wealthy and businesses, and eliminate the penalty for not having health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office estimated at the time that the legislation would add $ 1.5 trillion to federal deficits over 10 years, which was revised to $ 1.9 trillion. President Trump signed this law on December 22, 2017.
Earlier in the same year, Republicans attempted to use reconciliation to dismantle the affordable care law. The House approved a reconciliation measure to repeal key provisions of the health care law and cap federal funding for Medicaid, but the Senate failed to secure the votes needed to move a bill forward.
Fox News’ Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.
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