Senate Passes FY2006 Budget Reconciliation Bill:
Changes Necessitate Additional House Action
Senate Vote
With a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Cheney, the Senate passed, 51-50, the FY2006 Budget Reconciliation conference report. The package, however, must now go back to the House due to a successful procedural challenge, a “Point of Order,” raised by Budget Committee Ranking Member Kent Conrad (D-ND) to strip out one particular Medicaid provision (but all the bad Medicaid cuts are still in the bill) and to take out directions to agencies to produce two reports.
Action Now Shifts to the House:
Because the Budget conference package passed by the Senate now differs from the one passed by the House on December 19 th, House action is needed for final approval. The House is scheduled to reconvene in late January.
The House vote on December 19 th was 212-206. Advocates will re-double efforts to sway moderate Republicans to vote against the package. Since the last two days have given legislators, staff and advocates time to actually look at the details of the 774-page conference report, and the next month will reveal more problems with the package, greater scrutiny and additional advocacy may lead some Republican Members to re-evaluate their votes. FRAC will be sending you suggestions for a field strategy shortly.
