U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announces the legislative achievements of Senate Democrats while holding a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst | Swimming pool | Reuters
Democrats may end up gaining momentum to get their agenda through Congress.
Senate lawmaker Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber could use budget reconciliation an extra time to pass a simple majority bill, a New York Democrat spokesman said Monday. The ruling would give Democrats, who control a Senate divided between 50 and 50 per party, three attempts to pass legislation without Republican votes before the 2022 midterm elections.
Democrats have not decided whether to use the third attempt at reconciliation. “No decision has been made on a legislative path forward” and “some parameters still need to be defined,” but the opinion “is an important step forward,” Schumer’s spokesman said.