Congress Uses Reconciliation for First Time to Cut Spending Under Omnibus Reconciliation Act

Congress enacted the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980, the first use of the budget reconciliation procedure created by the 1974 Budget Act. The law directed 14 House and Senate committees to cut spending by approximately $8.2 billion from projected levels. President Carter signed it December 5, 1980, demonstrating that reconciliation could bundle mandatory spending changes from multiple committees into a single bill requiring only a simple Senate majority.