Senate parliamentarian strikes Pell Grant provisions from ACA reconciliation under the Byrd Rule

The Senate passed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 by 56-43, but parliamentarian Alan Frumin ruled that two provisions amending Pell Grant treatment under the Higher Education Act were extraneous under the Byrd Rule. The rulings required stripping those provisions and sending the bill back to the House for a second vote. The episode demonstrated how the parliamentarian could force procedural detours even on landmark legislation backed by a Senate majority.