How will Senate Republicans use ‘reconciliation’?

Now that the Republicans have won control of the Senate, they will soon be in a position to return the favor. As long as a topic requires spending money or changing taxes, it can be included in reconciliation legislation.

A key question is how many of the far-reaching proposals likely to come out of the House–such as repeal of the Affordable Care Act, changing Medicare to a premium-support system, changing Medicaid to block grants, or fundamental tax reform–would Senate Republicans want to push through in the reconciliation process. Mindful that a number of Senate Republicans are likely to be active in the 2016 presidential primaries, Mitch McConnell is widely expected as the next Senate majority leader to steer away from the most controversial measures. Sen. McConnell also knows that President Barack Obama can still wield the veto pen.

So it would be a surprise if Republicans sought to use reconciliation for more than modest changes. One item high on a list of possible compromise is more defense spending–which has been really squeezed by sequestration–in light of seemingly bipartisan support for the stepped-up campaign against Islamic State (ISIS). The president and his Democratic allies in Congress would most likely want in return more spending on infrastructure (which some Republicans probably would support) and perhaps other domestic programs, for which there is likely to be less Republican enthusiasm.