Late Friday night, Republicans introduced new text to the reconciliation bill, trying to satisfy the Senate Parliamentarian’s view on the Byrd Rule. The new text will keep short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), any other weapons (AOW), and suppressors under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), but would reduce the tax stamp fee to $0. Machineguns and destructive devices tax stamp fee will remain $200.
The Byrd rule is named after former U.S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a member of the Democratic Party. The Byrd Rule states that only budgetary and tax items can be passed through the reconciliation process. A reconciliation bill differs from a standard bill as only 50 votes are needed to pass it through the Senate. In contrast, any other bill requires a supermajority of 60 votes to pass due to the filibuster. Republicans argued that since the NFA is a tax law, as confirmed by the United States Supreme Court in 1937, it could be changed through reconciliation. Democrats argued that it was a policy issue, not a tax issue, and therefore off-limits to reconciliation.
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