Reconciliation or Retribution? : What to take away from today's floor session

Terry Gross

Today on the floor, we saw Republican and Democratic senators debate Resolution 206, i.e. the Democrats’ budget framework. This debate might be better described as a war of personalities, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) leading his senators in an escalating battle against the resolution. The phrase “radical leftist” was tossed around by multiple Republicans, including Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Rick Scott (R-FL), and McConnell himself. The primary strategy of the Republicans was to accuse the Democrats of serving themselves in this proposal rather than the American people, whom the Democrats argued voted by proxy for the budget during the midterm elections. A couple Republicans inexplicably noted that the Democrats’ budget framework favored Communist China, and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked Democrats “why [they] care more about the Ukrainian people than the American people.” Senator Angus King (I-ME) asked if Santa would come this Christmas season, implying that a government shutdown would mean tightened budgets for American families.

We as the press were left with several questions after today’s session. What does this resolution actually propose? Did this floor session reflect a break in regular order, or is this politics as usual? How will the minority party strategize to push their agenda against a united Democratic front? Will there be a government shutdown?

Senator McConnell approached me after the floor session to give a statement on the proceedings, and he was visibly outraged. He told me that the Democrats’ understanding of budget reconciliation was misguided and that approaching his Republican colleagues to sign onto their budget is very different from working with Republicans to write a bipartisan budget. This was something I had also been wondering since last Monday’s Budget Committee. Is it within the rights of the majority party to push through a budget for which no Republicans were consulted, or is it an abuse of power?

According to normal reconciliation protocol, the budget is to be treated as a standard bill in terms of the rules applied to it. Unfortunately for the Republicans, there is no requirement that the framework or the budget itself be written with consultation from their party. If there was, we’d be staring down the barrel of a shutdown. A simple majority is required for the passing of a budget, and the Democrats, led by Majority Leader Mazie Hirono (D-HI) are currently playing their cards with the confidence that they can wrangle this majority. Throughout this Senate session, we have seen some Democrats vote across party lines, but it’s likely that those dissenters will recognize the gravity of a 2023 budget and what a failure to pass it would mean for not just the U.S. economy but for their reputations.

It also seemed that Senators were confused about what they were actually voting on today. Senators on both sides of the aisle referenced the budgets themselves, but the vote was intended only to address Res. 206, a three-page document that set maximum spending limits. Several Democratic Senators discussed the stipulations of The American Revival Act, a.k.a their full budget and allocations for the 2023 fiscal year. Senator Manchin (D-WV) spoke to the act’s “common sense energy plan,” Senator Baldwin (D-WI) mentioned higher education, Senator Warren (D-MA) spoke to the reduction of prescription medication costs, etc. These issues, however, were only vaguely referenced in the Findings section of the resolution. It is only in the budget that solutions to these issues are proposed. The floor session devolved into a discussion about specific funding allocations, which can’t be found in S. 206 itself.

Both parties jumped the gun on the floor today and used the boogeyman of a government shutdown to advocate for their respective budgets, when those budgets weren’t even on the table. We at the press saw this coming from miles away. When the Republican budget was released on November 16th, there were already rumblings among the Democrats on its extreme nature. In the Budget Committee last Monday, Republicans attacked Democrats for submitting only a framework rather than a full budget. We saw in that meeting question-dodging, political fodder, and an utter lack of productivity. The budget process hasn’t yet reached its peak, but those are not good signs.

So what’s next? This Wednesday, Senators will meet in their committees to tie up loose ends on legislation and to address their respective sections of the budget. On Friday, there will be another floor session that will – hopefully – pass a reconciled budget. From what we saw today, though, this is an ambitious timeline. While the Democrats, with the rule of simple majority on their side, are effectively stonewalling the Republicans, I don’t think Minority Leader McConnell will let them proceed without resistance. The decisions that Senators make over the next week will determine whether an already sick economy will return to health, or whether the financial security of Americans will lie in the hands of a few inflated egos.