The GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has moved to the Senate to be considered for debate and possible revision. While President Donald Trump’s tax and spending plan passed in the House, different rules in the Senate may end up stripping out certain proposals.
The Senate has a rule for so-called reconciliation bills known as the Byrd rule, which limits the budget-based bill from meandering too far outside a fiscal pathway. There has also been concern about whether some items increase the deficit past the bill’s fiscal window in 2034, which could be a violation of the Byrd rule.
What is the Byrd Rule?
The Byrd rule, named after former West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, has been in place since the 1980s in order to limit irrelevant provisions within budget bills known as reconciliation bills. Due to the expedited manner in which reconciliation bills are passed, with a simple majority rather than the 60-vote threshold, the Byrd rule is in place to avoid items considered extraneous from being passed.
Some limitations based on the Byrd rule are if a policy item doesn’t have an impact on spending or revenue, or if the item will continue to increase the federal deficit outside the bill’s fiscal window. One Byrd rule test that sparks plenty of debate is whether a provision would have a “merely incidental” budgetary effect and therefore may not be included, according to Joshua Huder, senior fellow at the Georgetown University Government Affairs Institute.
“[This rule] requires the parliamentarian to interpret what is incidental and what is not,” Huder told the Washington Examiner.
The limitations the rule creates on reconciliation bills are substantial, explained Huder, who said it can kill a provision or an entire bill itself.
“It will strip provisions renaming buildings or policies, changes to regulations with little or no budgetary effect, and other portions of the House-passed bill that fail to change spending or tax policy. It is an important guardrail in the Senate’s consideration of the bill,” Huder said in the email.
Why is it important to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act?
Opponents of the bill can raise Byrd Rule challenges to be reviewed by the Senate parliamentarian, a nonpartisan appointee who interprets the rules of the Senate and its procedure.
Legislation has gone through this process of questioning before. The 2021 Biden administration attempt at increasing the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2025 was struck down using the Byrd rule because the impact on federal spending would be “merely incidental” compared to the non-budgetary aftermath of the major policy change.
The “Build Back Better Act’s” provision for undocumented immigrants granting them parole status was also struck down in 2021 because it was not deemed “budgetary in nature,” according to the American Action Forum.
There have already been run-ins between Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who makes calls regarding the Byrd rule.
In May, Thune ignored a judgment by MacDonough supporting the Governmental Accountability Office’s finding that repealing California emissions standards was not within the Senate’s parameters.
If MacDonough rules that a provision must be removed for a Byrd rule violation, the Senate could override her with a bare majority. Republicans control 53 seats in the upper chamber, but many, including Thune, have been reluctant to challenge her directly.
Provisions of the bill that could be subject to the Byrd bath
The version of the legislation that passed in the House includes some sections that are more policy-based than fiscal, or that produce a fiscal end with a policy-focused means. If the bill is changed and passed in the Senate, it will be sent back to the House for the updated version to be voted on.
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With a three-seat majority in both the House and Senate, the loss of any one provision has the potential to throw off the vote count for Republicans. Below are provisions likely to be subject to Byrd rule challenges, sometimes referred to as going through a “Byrd bath.”
- Restriction on judges: After many presidential executive orders have been blocked in federal court, Sec. 70302 of the bill would limit a federal judge’s ability to hold anyone, including the Trump administration, in contempt or issue an injunction until a bond has been paid.
- AI regulation ban: One major policy change deals with artificial intelligence in Sec. 43201. The bill would ban states from imposing regulations on AI for the next 10 years. Opponents have previewed that they will challenge this section as unapplicable to a reconciliation bill.
- Gun regulations: The taxation on gun silencers section, Sec. 112029, loosens the regulation and tax on suppressors. The provisions were added in part to gain the support of Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), a fiscal conservative and gun store owner, who took credit for their inclusion. The provision outlines regulatory definitions and sets new rates related to making and transferring silencers.
- Farm provisions: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has agriculture provisions that would normally be included in the farm bill, and could run afoul of the Byrd rule. The legislation boosts four major conservation programs to increase the baseline funding for a future farm bill, and includes “safety net” policies for farmers, as well as other programs dealing with trade promotion, livestock biosecurity, and research.
- Planned Parenthood defunding: Sec. 44126 in the bill would defund much of Planned Parenthood, describing the abortion provider as a “prohibited entity.” The section has been described as both too broad and too policy-driven, rather than budget-based. Democrats and abortion-rights advocates have defended federal funding to Planned Parenthood as important for women by providing health exams and birth control, whereas many Republicans have opposed any federal dollars going to clinics that also provide abortions.
- Streamlining fossil fuel production: The bill includes provisions on energy deregulation, including leasing and permitting reforms, with the goal of speeding up energy projects. The bill would allow developers to pay fees to expedite their permits.
- Tax on remittance payments: Democrats are eyeing a Byrd rule challenge to a proposed tax on money sent to foreigners, arguing the budgetary effect is “incidental.” The bill would impose a 3.5% tax on remittances sent out of the country by any non-U.S. citizen. For years, immigrants in the United States have sent money to loved ones back home through commercial wire service companies.
