Several tests — collectively known as the “Byrd rule” after the late Sen. Robert Byrd — determine whether a measure is eligible for reconciliation.
First, the policy must produce a change in “outlays or revenues;” in other words, it must have an impact on the federal budget. Irrefutably, enabling immigrants to earn permanent residence has a clear and significant budgetary impact, primarily by allowing a new class of people to become eligible for public benefits and services. For example, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that passing the Dream and Promise Act — which would enable Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status recipients to earn permanent residence — would cost $42.5 billion over 10 years.
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