Here's the skinny on the use of "reconciliation"

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Here is a list of the 19 times "reconciliation" has been used since its inception in 1980. Major legislation passes through the Senate with a "cloture" vote of 60 Senators. Eventually the Senate and House versions go into "conference committee" and are synthesized into a single piece of legislation. The conference report must be voted on, again with 60 votes in the Senate and a simple majority in the House -- 218 votes. On occasion, a bill passes through Congress and becomes law without all the details concerning the financing of the law. The process called "reconciliation" is used to add in or subtract from an existing law or program with regard to financial considerations and requires only 51 votes for passage. Issues that are passed under "reconciliation" are always attached to an existing bill or program and are always related to finances. If the 51 vote procedure were to be used, Health Care Reform would need to be attached to an existing bill - maybe the February Stimulus. By our count, there are only three of the 19 items on this list that should have received a "cloture" vote instead of "reconciliation" : Clinton's Balanced Budget Act, Clinton's Taxpayer Relief Act and Bush's College Cost Reduction Act.

By definition, "omnibus bills" amend existing legislation. On the chart below, we have 9 omnibus bills passing through Congress using reconciliation - 9 of the 19 times reconciliation has been used. Tax bills have received reconciliation passage because it can be said that they amend previous tax law. Nothing of the magnitude of the Health Care Reform bill has ever worked its way through Congress under reconciliation, Harry Reid's phony claims not withstanding.

Keep in mind that the Health Care Reform bill is a trillion dollar item. Nothing on our list is even remotely close to this sum. Further, nothing on this chart represents a take-over of a portion of the National economy and nothing on the chart grows government as does the Health Care bill . . . all reasons why the current Health Care Bill is not a candidate for reconciliation. Talk of reconciliation will remain nothing but talk. There is a reason why Reid has threatened the use of reconciliation four times over the course of the past 12 months but has not followed through on those threats -- because it is as wrong headed as it can possibly be -- jds.

Budget Reconciliation Bills Signed Into Law Since 1980. [Note: FoxNews reports 23 reconciliation votes since 1980]

Bill	Major Purposes	Change in Revenue	Change in Outlays	Net Effect on Deficit
Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980	First use of reconciliation process.	$29.2 billion	-$50.38 billion	-$79.58 billion; 1981-1985
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981	Made significant cuts to discretionary programs, including welfare and food stamps.		-$130 billion	-$130 billion; 1981-1984
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982	Reauthorized and made changes to food stamp program. Made changes to federal employee pay formula and to the farm support program.		-$13.3 billion	-$13.3 billion; 1983-1985
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA)	Rescinded some provisions of the previous year's Kemp-Roth tax cuts.	$98.3 billion	-$17.5 billion	-$115.8 billion; 1983-1985
Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1983	Made changes to federal employee pay and retirement formulas.		-$8.2 billion	-$8.2 billion; 1984-1987
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985	Mandated an insurance program giving some employees the ability to continue health insurance coverage after leaving employment (COBRA) and amended the Internal Revenue Code to deny income tax deductions to employers for contributions to a group health plan unless such plan meets certain continuing coverage requirements.	$9 billion	-$15.9 billion	-$24.9 billion; 1986-1989
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986	Ordered the sale of Conrail. Made minor changes to Medicare hospital provisions.	$10.5 billion	-$6.5 billion	-$17.0 billion; 1987-1989
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987	Created federal standards for nursing homes under Medicare and expanded Medicaid eligibility	$23.2 billion	-$16.4 billion	-$39.6 billion; 1988-1989
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989	Made approximately $10 billion in spending cuts	$15.4 billion	-$23.77 billion	-$39.2 billion; 1990-1992
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990	Established Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules for the first time and implemented a range of tax increases	$137 billion	-$184 billion	-$236 billion; 1991-1995
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993	Created two new personal income tax rates and a new tax rate for corporations. The cap on Medicare taxes was repealed, and gas taxes were raised. The taxable portion of Social Security benefits was increased. The phase-out of the personal exemption and limit on itemized deductions were permanently extended, and the earned income tax credit was expanded.	$250.1 billion	-$254.7 billion	-$504.8 billion; 1994-1998
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (1996)	Clinton's welfare reform bill	$1.9 billion	-$52.2 billion	-$54.1 billion; 1997-2002
Balanced Budget Act of 1997	Contained first portion of Clinton's plan to balance the federal budget by FY 2002. Created the Children's Health Insurance Program. Made changes to Medicare hospital payment policy.	$8.6 billion	-$118.6 billion	-$127.2 billion; 1998-2002
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997	Clinton's tax cut package	-$88.9 billion	$11.5 billion	$100.4 billion; 1997-2002
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001	First Bush 43 tax cuts	-$512 billion	$40 billion	$552 billion; 2001-2006
Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003	Second Bush 43 tax cuts	-$314 billion	$29.5 billion	$342.9 billion; 2003-2008
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005	Reduced Medicare and Medicaid spending, changed student loan formulas, and reauthorized the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.	N/A	-$39 billion	-$39 billion; 2006-2010
Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005	Extended several of the earlier Bush tax cuts, including the reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends and the alternative minimum tax (AMT) tax reduction.	-$70.0 billion	N/A	$70.0 billion; 2006-2010
College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007	$20 billion student aid reform package. Included grant increases, loan rate reductions, and created public service loan forgiveness program.	N/A	-$752 million	-$752 million; 2007-201

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