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Omnibus Bills

A noteworthy feature of the modern Congress has been its tendency to package many, often unrelated, proposals in a single, very long piece of legislation, called an omnibus bill.

Although omnibus bills have been used throughout the nation's history, they assumed new importance after Congress adopted its budget process in 1974. Using that process, each year the Senate and House of Representatives adopt a budget resolution setting an overall plan for government spending and revenues. In many years, they have followed up with an omnibus measure revising government programs to conform to the overall plan.

It became common practice in the 1980s for Congress to provide funding for most or all government departments and agencies in a single omnibus bill known as a continuing resolution. This type of resolution was usually used for stopgap funding and in the 1990s Congress began to back away from its use as an omnibus funding bill.

But this did not mean an end to other types of omnibus bills. In 1996, for example, Congress took a funding bill for one department and turned it into an omnibus bill containing all or part of five unfinished fiscal 1996 annual appropriations bills. Indeed, during Bill Clinton's administration, it was rare for the annual spending bills to move on their own rather than in an omnibus bill carrying at least two or more bills. In 2003, in the George W. Bush presidency, a continuing resolution was used once again, this time as the vehicle for eleven of the thirteen annual appropriations bills.

Critics complained that individual provisions of omnibus bills often receive little debate, and members are forced to vote on the mammoth measures without fully understanding what is in them. Others defended the omnibus approach, however, arguing that members benefit from the broad overview of government activities it provides. Some noted that many politically unpopular actions, however necessary, might be impossible unless they were buried in an omnibus bill. Omnibus budget bills often enjoy special protections from floor amendments or filibusters.