June 20 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate Parliamentarian ruled Thursday that several key provisions from Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on the Trump budget bill violate reconciliation process rules.
Reconciliation is a tool to limit debate and bypass filibuster in order to expedite a bill’s passage.
Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s ruling means core provisions of the bill must be removed to use reconciliation to pass the bill with a simple majority vote.
Among the pieces of the bill MacDonough disallowed were a $6.4 billion cut from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau budget that would zero-out all funding for that agency by reducing its maximum funding to 0% of the Federal Reserve’s operating expenses.
She also knocked out Scott’s provision of a $1.4 billion Federal Reserve staff pay cut.
“I remain committed to advancing legislation that cuts waste and duplication in our federal government and saves taxpayer dollars,” Scott said in a statement.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said, “As much as Senate Republicans would prefer to throw out the rule book and advance their families lose and billionaires win agenda, there are rules that must be followed and Democrats are making sure those rules are enforced.”
Scotts budget bill proposals included ending funding of the consumer bureau, as well as dissolving the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and cutting the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research.
Scott said he will continue working with the parliamentarian on his committee’s budget bill provisions.
“Democrats fought back, and we will keep fighting back against this ugly bill,” Banking Committee ranking Democrat Elizabeth Warren said in a statement.
