J. Exon: “in 1986, the Congress enacted the so-called ``Byrd rule,'' named for our esteemed colleague, Senator Byrd, now…”

“in 1986, the Congress enacted the so-called ``Byrd rule,'' named for our esteemed colleague, Senator Byrd, now incorporated into the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as section 313. Although it may seem arcane to those not immediately involved in the budget process, the Byrd rule has become a very important tool to curb provisions in the reconciliation bill that are extraneous to the purpose of deficit reduction. It helped close Pandora's box of reconciliation abuse, of which Senator Byrd so eloquently warned more than 10 years ago. The Byrd rule provides six definitions of what constitute extraneous matter, but the term generally applies to provisions unrelated to the reconciliation deficit reduction goals. For example, a provision in reconciliation could be challenged by a Senator if it produces no changes in revenue or spending or if such changes are merely incidental. Sixty votes are necessary to waive a point of order raised under the Byrd rule. Last year's reconciliation bill contained numerous Byrd rule violations. This year's bill is also brimming with violations. I will shortly present a full list to the Chair and raise a point of order, but I want to highlight two of them. First, there is a provision that deletes a requirement that the Secretary of Agriculture promulgate rules so that school lunch contracts comply with the applicable meat inspection laws.”