Congress has taken on the maximum possible amount of budgetary work in 2025, from a tax bill to the debt limit to an array of debates over spending cuts.
The dizzying series of fiscal fights has sometimes led lawmakers to conflate appropriations bills with reconciliation negotiations. But, despite the chaos, lawmakers’ lengthy to-do list largely fits into two tracks: appropriations and reconciliation.
Appropriations bills provide money for federal agencies to operate throughout the year. They provide discretionary funding, which makes up slightly more than one-quarter of federal spending.
The reconciliation process, on the other hand, allows lawmakers to push other ...