Among other provisions, it affects Senate rules of debate during the budget reconciliation, not least by preventing the use of the filibuster against the budget resolutions.

Using "budget reconciliation" as an end run around the filibuster is a possibility (no decision on that has yet been made), but it's rife with difficulties of its own.

Gifford got me so excited about Clinton's first budget reconciliation that I just assumed it was national news, that everyone in the country was sitting on the edge of their seats wondering what would happen.

In response, the budget reconciliation acts of 1985, 1986, and 1990 adopted what is known as the Byrd Rule (Section 313 of the Budget Act).

No, because the big budget reconciliation bill lies ahead, involving Medicare and student loans, taxes and perhaps welfare.

The other step was to postpone a markup on the budget reconciliation scheduled for Wednesday in the House.

The struggle over capital gains has been a major factor holding up a budget reconciliation.

While Republicans may yet cobble together an agreement among themselves in the committee, today's breakdown illustrates just how difficult the process of budget reconciliation can be.

A little bit down the road, they can try to fix some of its flaws through budget reconciliation, where the tyranny of the filibuster does not rule.

Republicans in Congress have attached riders to the budget reconciliation that would open the Arctic National Wildife Refuge to oil drilling and increase logging elsewhere.