Congressional Climate Camp #5: Bonus Session: Understanding Budget Reconciliation

Congressional Climate Camps Find out more about the briefings in this series below: Jan. 29 Budget, Appropriations, and Stimulus Feb. 26 Federal Policy to Decarbonize High-Emission Sectors Mar. 26 Lessons Learned from Past Congresses and Current Public Attitudes on Climate Apr. 30 Federal Policy for Mitigation and Adaptation Win-Wins May 21 Understanding Budget Reconciliation A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast Ready to make a difference in climate policy? But not sure where to start? We have you covered. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to join us for our start-of-the-new-Congress Climate Camp online briefing series. We will go over the basics of the legislative process, highlighting key areas and opportunities for achieving near-term and long-term carbon reductions through policy. Our fifth and final session will look at budget reconciliation, an oftentimes difficult-to-understand process that allows Congress to pass laws related to taxes, spending, and the debt limit with only a majority vote in the Senate (instead of a filibuster-proof 60-vote supermajority). The Senate Parliamentarian determined that the Senate can pass two budget reconciliation bills this year, for fiscal years 2021 and 2022. But how does the process work? What are the major challenges for Congressional lawmakers and their staff in drafting and passing reconciliation bills? And why does it matter for climate policy? This briefing will discuss budget reconciliation procedures along with do’s and don’ts for those involved in the process. A moderated, 40-minute discussion will follow the two speaker presentations.