After taking down Roe and enacting pro-life laws in the states, the pro-life movement has its sights set on defunding big abortion. In 1976, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment with overwhelming support. This amendment is supposed to ensure that federal tax dollars aren’t funding abortion. Unfortunately, abortion businesses can get around the Hyde Amendment by using federal Medicaid funds to pay for non-abortion services and subsidize their businesses so they can end more unborn lives.

Pro-life leaders in all 50 states are asking Congress to defund Big Abortion through reconciliation, which requires a majority vote in the Senate – rather than 60 members – to pass. Reconciliation bills in 2015 and 2017 included a provision to stop funneling American tax dollars to Big Abortion. Unfortunately, then-President Obama vetoed the bill in 2015 and the 2017 bill failed by one vote due to Senator McCain’s concerns with other parts of the bill. This year, Congress can finally end funding for an industry that endangers women, kills unborn children and spends millions lobbying for abortion on demand with no limits.

Here’s how reconciliation works:

1. House & Senate Budget Committees create budget resolutions to instruct committees of jurisdiction

First, both congressional chambers must create budget resolutions to give instructions to committees so they can draft the reconciliation bill. Both parts of Congress, the House and the Senate, must ultimately adopt identical resolutions, even if they start with different versions. Adopting a budget resolution is different from passing a law. A budget resolution allows the House and Senate to establish goals and instructions for creating budget-related laws.

2. House & Senate vote on budget resolutions

After creation, the House and Senate must vote on their budget resolutions. Adopting a budget resolution is easier than passing regular legislation because the House and the Senate only need a simple majority (more than 50% of the vote). In addition, senators cannot use the filibuster for budget resolutions.

3. Once the House and Senate adopt a budget resolution, reconciliation officially begins.

As mentioned before, the budget resolution is merely a collection of goals and instructions for what Congress wants to see in the reconciliation bill. After the resolution passes the House and Senate, it is passed to congressional groups called committees.

4. Committees of jurisdiction draft reconciliation bill to include defunding Big Abortion of Medicaid $$$

Both the House and Senate have committees, small groups of congressmembers specializing in certain areas. These committees draft legislation related to their area of expertise. A budget resolution instructs various committees regarding how to structure the legislation it creates. If the House and Senate budget resolutions allow for committees to defund Big Abortion in the reconciliation bill, then congressional committees can draft legislative language to do so.

5. House votes on its reconciliation bill & Senate votes with a “Vote-a-Rama”

After committees in the House draft a reconciliation bill, they vote on it. The Senate vote is slightly different because it includes a “Vote-a-Rama.” This means that Senators can propose any number of changes to the reconciliation bill before they vote to pass the final version of it.

6. House & Senate conference and negotiate House & Senate versions of reconciliation bill

Once the House and Senate have passed their reconciliation bills, they must conference and negotiate any minor changes. Both congressional chambers must agree on the same version of the bill before it can become law. If changes have been made after negotiation, the House and Senate must vote on the bill again.

7. POTUS signs reconciliation bill

Once both chambers pass an identical bill, it goes to the president’s desk. If the president signs the bill, it becomes law.