Clause 7 of Rule XXI
Rule XXI of the House of Representatives
[Reconciliation Directives]
§1068b. Restriction on reconciliation directives.
7. It shall not be in order to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget, or an amendment thereto, or a conference report thereon that contains reconciliation directives under section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 that specify changes in law such that the reconciliation legislation reported pursuant to such directives would cause an increase in net direct spending (as such term is defined in clause 10) for the period covered by such concurrent resolution.
HOUSE RULES AND MANUAL NOTES
This clause was added in the 110th Congress (sec. 402, H. Res. 6, Jan. 4, 2007, p. 19 (adopted Jan. 5, 2007)), amended in the 111th Congress to reflect a change in the time periods in clause 10(a)(1) (sec. 2(j), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. 7), and rewritten in the 112th Congress to focus on an increase in direct spending instead of a reduction in the surplus or an increase in the deficit (sec. 2(d)(5), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80).
Counsel Notes
While budget resolutions have been considered while this clause has been in effect that include directives that the “deficit” be increased, none have explicitly directed that direct spending be increased by the a committee. H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), as amended by the Senate, included such instructions to the Ways and Means Committee to increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion over ten years. The rule that provided (H. Res. 580 (115th Congress)) waived all points of order, including this clause. The report on this resolution (H. Rept. 115–369 (115th Congress)) said that the “Committee is not aware of any points of order”. The resolution itself made in order a motion to be made by the Chairman of the Budget Committee for the House to agree to the Senate amendment. These motions are treated as amendments for the purposes of budget enforcement.
House Practice Notes
Reconciliation Directives
Clause 7 of rule XXI provides that it is not in order to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget, or an amendment thereto, or a conference report thereon, that contains reconciliation directives under section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 that specify changes in law that would cause an increase in net direct spending for the period of the concurrent resolution on the budget.
Budget Counsel 