August 12, 2021
It was a long day in the Senate on Tuesday. To begin the day, the upper Chamber passed the $1 trillion infrastructure plan by a vote of 69-30. To see the Republicans that voted in favor of this bill, click here.
The Senate then moved to act on the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion Fiscal Year 2022 budget resolution. This kicked off a marathon vote-a-rama that lasted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. Vote-a-rama is a process only found in budget reconciliation and it requires amendments to be voted on. This time around, 47 amendments were voted on. While vote-a-rama does offer Republicans a chance to slow down a bill’s movement, it comes at a gamble.
Thankfully, many good amendments were adopted.
In a win for the pro-life movement, Senator Lankford’s (R-OK) amendment to reinstate the Hyde Amendment and the Weldon Amendment was adopted by a vote of 50-49. Others include a ban on teaching Critical Race Theory, the opposition of the Green New Deal, prevention of job-killing tax hikes, and decreasing federal funding to localities that defund the police. A comprehensive list can be viewed here.
Final passage of the $3.5 trillion budget resolution sadly did finally come about 4 AM Wednesday morning. The bill was adopted by a vote of 50-49, with Senator Rounds (R-SD) not voting due to family matters. It is important to remember that this passage gives the Senate Committees now the responsibility to begin drafting a budget reconciliation bill, which can be passed by a majority vote in the Senate. After passage in the Senate, the House will consider the bill.
Unfortunately, the bad news did not stop there. After the budget vote, Senate Democrats successfully discharged S.1 or the For the People Act out of the Rules Committee, paving its way for consideration by the full body sometime in September. The motion to discharge S.1 passed by a vote of 50-49. As you may recall, S.1 is a deeply partisan bill that seeks to federalize elections! The Senate Republican Policy Committee has several papers on the bill. They are S.1: Chaos in the Election Law, S.1 Is Not the Voting Rights Act, and S.1: Unnecessary and Unpopular.
Eagle Forum will continue to monitor the movement of the budget process and S.1.