Negotiations are beginning on the upcoming “reconciliation bill,” and the motorcoach industry is once again seeking the balance of funding that was reduced in the passage of the CERTS Act — $6 billion.
Thank you to the hundreds of United Motorcoach Association Members who have written and called their House members and senators, thanking them for the $2 billion our industry received and expressing the need for additional sustenance to remain viable as an employer and provide passenger transportation to the communities you serve.
What is a reconciliation bill?
Reconciliation is a parliamentarian tool that makes legislation easier to pass in the Senate. Instead of needing 60 senators’ votes to pass, a reconciliation bill needs only a simple majority. Reconciliation begins with a Congressional Budget Resolution. The budget cannot be stalled in the Senate by filibuster, and it does not need the president’s signature.
This particular reconciliation bill will hinge solely on Democratic lawmakers’ votes as no Republicans are expected to support the policies and spending the House and Senate majority currently seek.
The current discussions focus on a $3.5 trillion spending bill and, regardless of your politics, $6 billion would go a long way toward keeping our industry viable while the nation continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are off to a good start, but we need more support to see passage. Supporting the original CERTS Act were 61 senators and 272 House members. That took a lot of work, and so will the pursuit of an additional $6 billion.
