Congress Plans for Reconciliation Process

As the 119th Congress takes shape, Republicans in both the House and Senate are planning to use budget reconciliation, a fast-track budgetary tool, to advance the party’s priorities. This mechanism allows legislation to bypass the Senate filibuster and pass with a simple majority vote in each chamber. Timing and number of reconciliation bills (one vs. two) are uncertain. While Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has proposed two reconciliation bills to separate tax from border security, defense and energy, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated the House plans to use a single bill to extend the tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and address items like border security and the debt limit.

To help fund these policies, the reconciliation package could contain troubling provisions from last year’s College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA), H.R. 6951, including eliminating the Grad PLUS Loan Program, capping federal loan amounts to $200,000 per borrower and establishing new risk-sharing payments for institutions of higher education. The reconciliation package will encompass many policy areas and may also contain healthcare provisions that benefit or disadvantage osteopathic medicine.

AACOM is opposing inclusion of any harmful higher education provisions in reconciliation and will monitor the process and advocate for the interests of the osteopathic medical education (OME) community.