By a vote of 50-49, the Senate passed its FY14 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 8) at 5:00 a.m. last Saturday – the first time the Senate has passed a budget resolution in four years. The budget resolution is significant in many respects, particularly because of the unique “vote-a-rama” process that allows Senators to raise priority issues and gauge the level of support among their colleagues for legislative priorities and bills, including tax reform.

This alert provides an overview of the budget resolution, a summary of its significant amendments, key takeaways from vote-a-rama, and next steps.

Congressional Consideration of Budget Resolution -

The budget resolution sets an annual framework for legislation that has a budgetary impact – including tax legislation – by establishing spending and revenue levels. While the budget resolution is not law, it establishes priorities and direction for the year. Senators use the vote-a-rama amendment process to test support for a variety of policy proposals and for messaging purposes.