Reconciliation and the FY 2022 Budget Resolution

Earlier this year, Congress used the reconciliation process to enact the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to provide additional COVID-19 relief. It is using the process again for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget. The Senate adopted a FY 2022 budget resolution (S.Con.Res.14), which includes reconciliation instructions for committees to draft a bill to address the administration’s Build Back Better agenda. This supplements the bipartisan infrastructure package currently moving through Congress. The House did not draft its own FY 2022 budget resolution. Instead, it passed the Senate version.

The Center for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) has published a Q&A explaining reconciliation. This Budget Brief provides a summary of its analysis. It also addresses the reconciliation instructions in the FY 2022 budget resolution and the next steps for advancing legislative proposals.