Offering Amendments During Vote-a-Rama
Senators are starting vote-a-rama now that debate time has expired on the Fiscal Year 2021 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 5). The 1974 Budget Act (Public Law 93-344) limits floor debate on budget resolutions to no more than 50 hours “equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees.” Both party leaders typically designate the chairman and ranking minority member of the Budget Committee to manage the budget’s floor debate on their behalf.
The Budget Act also regulates the amendment process when the Senate debates budget resolutions. Specifically, it limits debate time on all first-degree amendments (i.e., an amendment to the budget resolution) to no more than 2 hours. And it limits debate time on all second degree amendments (i.e., an amendment to an amendment to the budget resolution), appeals, and certain motions to recommit the budget resolution with instructions to 1 hour.
Senators may continue to offer amendments after all debate time on the budget has expired during the period known as vote-a-rama. During vote-a-rama, the Senate votes immediately whenever a senator offers an amendment (or makes a motion or appeals the ruling of the chair). That means that the majority leader cannot fill the amendment tree by offering several amendments back-to-back to block senators from offering amendments to the budget resolution.
Vote-a-Rama in Practice
Yet vote-a-rama is an orderly process in practice despite the fact that the majority leader can’t block senators’ amendments. Senators use unanimous consent agreements to determine which amendments are offered and the order in which they are offered. Senators also allow a limited amount of time (typically two minutes equally divided) for debate prior to each vote. Senators usually negotiate tranches of amendments during recorded votes and then lock-in their agreement by unanimous consent. For example, Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., propounded a unanimous consent request at the start of today’s vote-a-rama that listed the first amendments on which the Senate would vote and allocated two minutes of debate time prior to each vote. And Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., used the same approach to manage vote-a-rama in the past.
The budget’s floor managers can also make it less likely that senators will insist on offering their amendments during vote-a-rama by calling up numerous amendments to the resolution before vote-a-rama begins. Absent unanimous consent, the Senate must first dispose of every pending amendment once vote-a-rama begins before senators can offer their own amendments to the resolution - a process that could take hours.
The rules governing the budget process also limit the types of amendments that senators can offer to the budget resolution during vote-a-rama. Any senator may raise a point of order against an amendment on the basis that it violates the Budget Act. If the Senate’s presiding officer sustains the point of order, the amendment falls without a vote. In some cases, senators may move to waive the point of order before the presiding officer rules on it. Many of the Budget Act’s waiver motions require a supermajority vote to succeed.
Amendment Templates
The Budget Act limits the amendment types that senators may offer to budget resolutions without triggering a point of order. The most common types of amendments are those establishing deficit neutral reserve funds (with or without revenue), points of order, new scoring rules, and reducing spending (or making other changes in the budget’s aggregate levels). Templates for each of these amendment types are listed below.
Deficit Neutral Reserve Fund
Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to [insert general policy statement].
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES - 117TH Cong., 1st Sess.
S. Con. Res. 5
Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2021 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2022 through 2030.
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by [____]
Viz:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. [____]. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO [insert general policy statement].
The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between houses, motions, or conference reports that may [insert general policy statement] by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2021 through 2030.
Deficit Neutral Reserve Fund (Precluding New Revenue)
Purpose: To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to [insert general policy statement].
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES - 117TH Cong., 1st Sess.
S. Con. Res. 5
Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2021 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2022 through 2030.
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by [____]
Viz:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. [____]. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND TO [insert general policy statement].
The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may revise the allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution for one or more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between houses, motions, or conference reports that may [insert general policy statement] without raising new revenue, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes, provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit over either the period of the total of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 or the period of the total of fiscal years 2021 through 2030.
Point of Order
Purpose: To establish a point of order [insert purpose of point of order].
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES - 117TH Cong., 1st Sess.
S. Con. Res. 5
Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2021 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2022 through 2030.
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by [____]
Viz:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. [____]. SENATE POINT OF ORDER AGAINST [insert purpose of point of order].
(a) In General.- It shall not be in order in the Senate to consider a [insert legislative vehicle(s)] that [insert purpose of point of order] in any year covered by the budget resolution.
(b) Supermajority Waiver and Appeal in the Senate.-
(1) WAIVER.- This section may be waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative vote of [insert supermajority] of the Members, duly chosen and sworn.
(2) APPEAL.- An affirmative vote of [insert supermajority] of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under this section.
[Note: An additional “DEFINITIONS” subsection may be needed to specify the provisions that trigger the point of order.]
Scoring Rule
Purpose: To disclose and budget for [insert general policy statement].
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES - 117TH Cong., 1st Sess.
S. Con. Res. 5
Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2021 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2022 through 2030.
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by [____]
Viz:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. [____]. BUDGET SCORING RULE RELATING TO [insert general policy statement].
(a) APPLICATION OF SCORING RULE.- In the Senate, notwithstanding any other law, for purposes of enforcement of points of order established under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 [insert legislative vehicle] shall be scored by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate as new budget authority and outlays equal to [insert amount].
Spending Reduction
Purpose: To [insert policy goal(s)].
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES - 117TH Cong., 1st Sess.
S. Con. Res. 5
Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2021 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2022 through 2030.
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by [____]
Viz:
(1) The levels for Function(s) [insert budget function(s)] of this resolution are amended by -
Reducing budget authority by the following amounts:
[____________________] in 2021;
[____________________] in 2022;
[____________________] in 2023;
[____________________] in 2024;
[____________________] in 2025;
[____________________] in 2026;
[____________________] in 2027;
[____________________] in 2028;
[____________________] in 2029; and
[____________________] in 2030.
Reducing outlays by the following amounts:
[____________________] in 2021;
[____________________] in 2022;
[____________________] in 2023;
[____________________] in 2024;
[____________________] in 2025;
[____________________] in 2026;
[____________________] in 2027;
[____________________] in 2028;
[____________________] in 2029; and
[____________________] in 2030.
(2) The levels of this resolution are amended by -
Reducing total budget authority by the following amounts:
[____________________] in 2021;
[____________________] in 2022;
[____________________] in 2023;
[____________________] in 2024;
[____________________] in 2025;
[____________________] in 2026;
[____________________] in 2027;
[____________________] in 2028;
[____________________] in 2029; and
[____________________] in 2030.
Reducing total outlays by the following amounts:
[____________________] in 2021;
[____________________] in 2022;
[____________________] in 2023;
[____________________] in 2024;
[____________________] in 2025;
[____________________] in 2026;
[____________________] in 2027;
[____________________] in 2028;
[____________________] in 2029; and
[____________________] in 2030.
Reducing federal deficits by the following amounts:
[____________________] in 2021;
[____________________] in 2022;
[____________________] in 2023;
[____________________] in 2024;
[____________________] in 2025;
[____________________] in 2026;
[____________________] in 2027;
[____________________] in 2028;
[____________________] in 2029; and
[____________________] in 2030.