Revenue Reconciliation Directives to the Senate Finance Committee in Congressional Budget Resolutions

Publication Date: May 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

During the more than 30 years that the congressional budget process has been in effect, the Senate Finance Committee has been subject to revenue reconciliation directives in a budget resolution on 18 occasions. Nine instances involved directives to reduce revenues, while the remaining nine instructed the committee to increase revenues. In all but three of the 18 instances, revenue reconciliation directives to the committee were accompanied by spending reconciliation directives.

The revenue reconciliation directives varied in their time frame, from single-year coverage (in the FY1976, FY1981, and FY1990 budget resolutions) to 11-year coverage (in the FY2002 and FY2004 budget resolutions). Further, the amount of required revenue changes ranged from less than $5 billion in a single year to $1.250 trillion over 11 years. The eight budget resolutions agreed to by the House and Senate over the 11year period covering FY1996-FY2006 (no budget resolution was agreed to for FY1999, FY2003, or FY2005) all included reconciliation directives to reduce revenues.

This report will be updated as developments warrant. (For additional information, see CRS Report RS21993, Spending Reconciliation Directives to the Senate Finance Committee in Congressional Budget Resolutions, by Robert Keith and Bill Heniff Jr.)