The House Republican budget introduced Tuesday includes a path for Congress to repeal Obamacare with only 51 votes in the Senate or to pursue other legislation Republicans want to pass with a simple majority.
House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price of Georgia said Tuesday that his budget includes “specific language” for repealing Obamacare through the budget tool known as reconciliation.
It does not rule out using the tool for other purposes, though. It “gives us flexibility to address other items should the conference desire to do so,” Price said.
Reconciliation is a procedure that can force committees to produce spending cuts or tax increases called for in the budget. Through reconciliation, the Senate can pass legislation with only a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes normally needed to overcome a filibuster.
The reconciliation process has been used in passing high-profile legislation in the past, including Obamacare in 2009.
Republicans have been considering using reconciliation for different purposes.
One possibility is to use it for conservative legislation, such as an Obamacare repeal, that would certainly be vetoed by President Obama. Price said Tuesday that such a move would “provide a contrast for the American people to see who’s trying to solve these challenges and who might be standing in the way.”
House Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare in the past but, lacking a GOP majority in the Senate until this year, they have not forced him to veto a wholesale repeal.
The other option is to work on legislation that would “provide a positive solution that the American people desire, put it on the president’s desk, and encourage him to sign it,” as Price described it.
Options include tax reform, reforms attached to an increase in the debt ceiling, or other Republican priorities that could face opposition from Senate Democrats.
The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to roll out its own budget proposal Wednesday.
Reconciliation would not come into play until both chambers had approved budget resolutions, and would require both chambers passing legislation and then going to conference on reconciliation measures. Price said Tuesday that the House would vote on his budget next week.
