Congress is moving two ambitious domestic policy bills on two procedural tracks.
And that small difference is a big deal.
The $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, aimed at repairing and replacing physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and waterways, is being advanced through (more or less) traditional legislative means. Alternatively, a $3.5 trillion social spending and climate bill is being advanced through a process known as budget reconciliation. And while most Americans are more concerned with outcomes than processes, the increasingly common trend of both parties trying to pass large portions of their domestic agendas via reconciliation is yielding a host of unintended consequences, most notably a situation in which legislation is constantly at risk of being undone or undermined when the minority party reassumes power.
Read Full Article »