GAO Glossary of Terms and Definitions (September 2005)

Reconciliation

A process Congress uses to reconcile amounts determined by tax, spending, credit, and debt legislation for a given fiscal year with levels set in the concurrent resolution on the budget for the year. Section 310 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. § 641) provides that the resolution may direct committees to determine and recommend changes to laws and pending legislation as required to conform to the resolution’s totals for budget authority, revenues, and the public debt. Such changes are incorporated into either a reconciliation resolution or a reconciliation bill. (See also Concurrent Resolution on the Budget; Congressional Budget Act.)

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