FAQ & GLOSSARY
Learn more about poison pill policy riders and our coalition’s work immediately below. View the glossary of budget terminology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are policy riders and why do they matter?
Policy riders are measures attached to legislation that have nothing to do with the purpose of the legislation. So for example, a measure that blocks the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from requiring companies to disclose their political spending doesn’t belong in a bill that’s supposed to be about funding our government. That measure is a rider — and a particularly harmful one, at that.
Most riders are just handouts to big corporations and special favors for ideological extremists that could not become law on their own merits. Most are also deeply unpopular and highly controversial. So unscrupulous lawmakers attach these measures to must-pass budget and appropriations legislation as riders, bypassing the normal legislative process. It’s sneaky, underhanded, and undemocratic.
Our coalition believes that harmful riders have no place in legislation that funds our government — and that lawmakers should not have to swallow appropriations bills that include these poison pills. All of them must be removed.
What is the Clean Budget Coalition?
Founded in 2015, the Clean Budget Coalition is made up of hundreds of organizations that have joined together to oppose poison pill riders. With local, state, and national organizations in our ranks, our members represent a broad and diverse cross-section of the public interest community.
Our members focus on banking reform, civil justice, civil rights, climate change, consumers, disability, the economy, education, the environment, faith, families, food safety, foreign policy, government reform, guns, HIV/AIDS, housing, immigration, inequality, law, LGBTQ+ issues, low-income communities, the media, the military, money in politics, people of color, prescription drugs, prison reform, public health, regulation, science, small business, social insurance, social services, technology, trade, veterans, voting rights, whistleblowers, women, workers, and more at all levels of government.
While each group in the coalition focuses on stopping riders that affect their members and constituents, every member of the coalition stands united behind our call for a clean budget with no harmful riders at all. Our strength is our solidarity.
What does the Clean Budget Coalition do to fight poison pill riders?
We educate lawmakers, the press, and the public about the threat of harmful riders, and we use a variety of tactics — such as lawmaker meetings, briefings and press conferences, blog and op-ed pushes, grassroots pressure, social media, Hill drops, and more — to encourage members of Congress to stand firm against them. We also built this website to educate you about the dangers of poison pill riders. Coalition members also track new poison pills as they get added to the annual spending bills.
What is the Clean Budget Coalition’s relationship to the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards?
The Clean Budget Coalition started off as a project of the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS), which opposes anti-regulatory legislation proposed in Congress. CSS took an interest in the poison pill riders problem because most of the riders proposed for inclusion in the annual spending bills are anti-regulatory in nature: in other words, they weaken, block, or repeal regulatory safeguards that protect American workers, consumers, and families as well as our environment and our economy. Some riders even attempt to sabotage the federal rulemaking process itself. CSS established the Clean Budget Coalition in response to these concerns. Our coalition has a reputation on Capitol Hill as an agile and effective force for good, trusted by our allies and respected by our adversaries.
Is there a difference between the budget and appropriations?
Yes, but outside of Capitol Hill, the two terms often are used interchangeably. The budget addresses top-line funding levels for the major government agencies, bureaus, commissions, and departments. Appropriations refers to the legislation that funds specific programs and agency activities. When our coalition members call for a “clean budget” with no harmful riders, we mean that to be inclusive of any and all legislation related to government funding.
Who is behind all the harmful riders?
House Republicans are behind most of the harmful riders, although occasionally there are poison pills that have bicameral and/or bipartisan support. Unlike proposed legislation, poison pill riders rarely have a sponsor’s name on them — making it difficult to draw clear lines of responsibility or hold lawmakers accountable.
Exactly how many harmful riders are there?
Finding all the riders and tallying them up is a Herculean task. Most riders are deliberately hidden in obscure sections of lengthy and complex appropriations bills, making them difficult to spot. Even for seasoned professionals, it’s easy to read a passage of appropriations text and not even realize there’s a poison pill rider hiding in plain sight.
During the FY 24 budget cycle, our coalition found at least 560 new poison pills riders spread across the 12 draft House-side appropriations bills, and thankfully lawmakers removed almost all of them before final passage. No matter how many poison pill riders there are and how well hidden they might be, our coalition fights to remove as many of them as we can.
Can you give some examples of riders?
There are riders that would block Endangered Species Act protections for the Sage Grouse, deny women’s access to health care, interfere with transparency in our campaign finance system, and many more. With hundreds of harmful riders in play, they affect a broad rage of issues and communities.
How are legacy riders different from poison pill riders?
Legacy riders are harmful measures that managed to sneak through in previous years. They then get held over from one budget cycle to the next, sometimes for decades, until remove them. Any new poison pill rider that gets signed into law becomes a legacy rider from that point forward until it is removed by Congress. The Clean Budget Coalition is fighting to remove as many legacy riders as possible. We estimate that there are more than 60 legacy riders that have accumulated over the past half century, most famously the 1976 Hyde Amendment.
Are riders worse than earmarks?
Yes, by far! Earmarks simply direct funding to a specific recipient or project — usually one in the home state or district of a particular lawmaker. Earmarks traditionally have been used by lawmakers to reward and thank their constituents by showering them with federal largesse. They have been banned at times because the costs of allowing earmarks for all 435 representatives and all 100 senators started to add up. But even with thousands of earmarks in every budget cycle, the worst that could happen is that a few billion dollars might be spent wastefully. That may not be not ideal, but it’s hardly catastrophic compared to the enormous size of the federal budget and our economy. Earmarks at least benefit local communities and stimulate local economies.
In contrast, even a single policy rider has the potential to make sweeping changes to national policy — with potentially life-altering consequences for millions of Americans. No matter how you feel about the underlying policy, it’s undemocratic to sneak through sweeping policy changes with no discussion or debate.
The public deserves an honest debate about funding levels, but we can’t have that debate while budget legislation is being used to enact policy changes that have little or nothing to do with funding our government. At least earmarks have something do to with spending. Poison pill policy riders do not, and all of them should be removed.
What happens if lawmakers fail to pass government funding legislation in time?
One of the chief dangers riders pose is that their inclusion in appropriations legislation continually risks a government shutdown. When a deadline to pass government funding legislation approaches, that deadline indicates when government funding is set to expire. If lawmakers do not pass legislation to reauthorize funding, then the federal government shuts down.
In a government shutdown, most of the federal government’s civilian employees are furloughed — sent home without pay until funding is restored. National parks, museums and galleries close, many government services and monitoring programs pause their operations, and payments to contractors and small companies that do business with the federal government are delayed. While the military and post offices remain open and members of Congress still get paid, the economic impacts of a shutdown are estimated to be in the neighborhood of about $1.5 billion in losses per day, though they can run higher or lower depending on the timing and circumstances of the shutdown.
If lawmakers reach in impasse in budget negotiations ahead of a fast-approaching deadline, a common strategy to avoid a costly and disruptive shutdown is passing a short-term continuing resolution (CR). A CR simply extends current government funding levels for a matter of days, weeks, or months — giving lawmakers more time to negotiate and resolve disagreements. In most cases, a CR is preferable to a costly and disruptive shutdown.
However, continually passing short-term CRs is no substitute for passing a budget. Agencies throughout the federal government — including the military — depend on the annual budgeting process in order to plan their agendas and set priorities for the year ahead. Funding our government is Congress’ most basic responsibility — one that lawmakers must not be allowed to abdicate. Poison pill policy riders are a distraction from this obligation.
Glossary
The federal budget process can be a cacophony of unfamiliar terms. Here’s what some of the more common ones mean.
Appropriations. The process of allocating funding for specific government programs and agencies.
Appropriator. A member of Congress who plays a leadership role in the federal funding process, usually one who sits on one of the two committees and 12 subcommittees in each chamber that handle federal spending.
Budget. The federal budget is how Congress funds our government and the many essential services it provides.
Budget Resolution. A draft budget proposal voted on by each chamber of Congress. It lacks the force of law but provides general guidelines to the appropriations committees about overall funding levels for each department.
Clean. When a budget or bill is described as clean, it contains no policy riders or extraneous measures that are unrelated to its central purpose. For example, a clean budget would be one without any poison pill policy riders included in it.
Continuing Resolution (CR). A bill that extends current government funding levels for several days, weeks, or months — often passed to give lawmakers more time to negotiate.
Debt. The total accumulated value of all past deficits.
Deficit. When spending exceeds revenue in a single year’s budget.
Debt Ceiling / Debt Limit. After Congress appropriates funding, the U.S. Treasury Department must pay our nation’s bills. It does so by raising capital through taxes as well as by issuing bonds to investors, borrowing the funds. The debt ceiling caps how much Treasury may borrow and must be raised periodically by Congress so that Treasury can continue to pay our nation’s bills. Most experts and economists believe that defaulting on the national debt by failing to raise the debt ceiling would undermine the full faith and credit of the United States and could trigger a global economic meltdown.
Discretionary Programs. Funding for discretionary programs is set each year through the annual budget process. Congress controls whether and at what level to fund programs in the discretionary category. Discretionary programs fall into two categories. “Defense discretionary” includes the Pentagon’s budget and related military programs. “Nondefense discretionary” (sometimes referred to as NDD) includes everything else: medical and scientific research, education and job training, infrastructure, public safety and law enforcement, public health, weather monitoring and environmental protections, natural and cultural resources, housing and social services, and international diplomacy.
Double CR. Two short-term continuing resolutions to extend existing funding levels that are passed within days or weeks of each other.
Earmarks. Funding directed to a specific recipient or project, often at the request of a single member of Congress to reward constituents.
Entitlements. A pejorative term used to attack popular and successful social insurance programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and sometimes the Affordable Care Act.
Filibuster. Most legislation must win 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to be considered for final passage. The filibuster is the process that blocks legislation from moving forward to a final vote, by allowing members of the minority to speak for as long as they wish. In most circumstances, the mere threat of a filibuster is enough to block legislation from moving forward, because floor time is so valuable. However, Congress can insert reconciliation instructions into budget legislation, thereby bypassing the filibuster and allowing it to pass with the support of a simple majority.
Fiscal Year. Institutional budgets, such as the federal budget, are organized around fiscal years rather than calendar years. The fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30. This is why there is a government funding deadline on Sept. 30 every year.
Floor Time. The time allocated for debate, procedural maneuvers, and voting in the main body of each chamber. Floor time is controlled by the highest ranking member of the majority party in each chamber. Because floor time is limited and valuable, leaders usually are disinclined to waste it by holding votes they are unlikely to win or allowing filibusters to go on at length.
Germane. Relevant to the purpose of the bill.
Government Shutdown. When federal funding expires, most government functions cease to operate until funding is restored. For a variety of reasons, government shutdowns are costly and disruptive to the public as well as government employees.
Leadership. The congressional leaders of each party in the House and Senate, sometimes referred to as the “four corners.”
Legacy Riders. Legacy riders are harmful measures that became law in past budget cycles. They are then held over year after year, sometimes for decades, until lawmakers remove them.
Minibus. A minibus is the combination of several appropriations bills (typically three to six of them at a time) into a single piece of legislation.
Must-Pass. Legislation that Congress is required by law to pass. Bills to fund the government or extend the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority are considered must-pass legislation.
Nondiscretionary Programs / Mandatory Spending. Some programs — such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Supplemental and Nutrition Assistance Program — are funded automatically. In other words, their funding levels are not determined by the appropriations process.
Non-Germane. Not relevant to the purpose of the bill.
OMB (U.S. Office of Management and Budget). OMB is the White House budget office. It drafts the president’s budget proposal and advocates for the president’s budget in negotiations with Congress.
Omnibus. An omnibus is when all 12 of the appropriations bills are combined into a single massive government funding bill.
Poison Pill. A measure that has been included in 
must-pass legislation that is extremely “difficult to swallow” because of its harmful policy consequences.
Policy Rider. A measure attached to a piece of legislation that has little or no relevance to the purpose of the bill. Most policy riders are special favors for corporate interests or ideological extremists that could not become law on their own merits, so unscrupulous lawmakers attach them to must-pass legislation as riders.
Reconciliation. Reconciliation instructions allow a budget bill to pass in the U.S. Senate by majority vote, and they limit floor debate to 20 hours.
Regular Order. In an ideal world, each chamber of Congress is supposed to pass each of the 12 appropriations bills one at a time. This process, when followed, is known as regular order. But for decades, Congress has not followed regular order — despite pledges from the leaders of both parties to do so.
Rescission. The cancellation of funding previously approved by Congress. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the president may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded, which the House and Senate must approve within 45 days by a simple majority vote in each chambers. If Congress disagrees or fails to act, the proposed funding cancellation is voided and the funds must be appropriated.
Skinny Budget. When a new president assumes office, the White House budget staff in their first year may not have time to prepare a full budget proposal. It is not unusual for a new president to release a skinny budget instead — a budget outline that lacks the detail of a full budget proposal.
Supplemental Appropriations. Supplemental appropriations bills provide new or increased funding for unexpected expenses.