Why hasn't the Senate passed a budget? Because they don't have the 60 votes

[pnwmom]

to get around a filibuster.

Another reason we have to change the filibuster rules to keep them from being abused.

[Jersey Devil]

1. Maybe because the Constitution provides that all appropriation bills are to originate in the House?

Just a wild guess. Article II Section 7: "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. "

[former9thward]

3. That is not the reason.

The House has passed its version of the budget. The Senate has not voted on the bill for some reason. They could pass their version and then send it to a conference committee for merger. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-02/u-s-house-passes-budget-bill-averts-most-tax-increases.html

[backscatter712]

2. The budget is why reconciliation rules have been instituted.

As pointed out, the House must originate all budget bills - appropriations bills. Not just one, but 13 appropriations bills, all of the monster bills that are thousands of pages long.

And because those are money bills, they and the related authorization bills used to implement the budget get to go through the reconciliation process, which bypasses the filibuster in the Senate.

[former9thward]

4. The filibuster does not apply to budget resolutions.

You only need 51 votes (or 50 + Biden). Jack Lew when he was budget director tried to say it was the filibuster and the Washington Post fact checker gave him four Pinocchios. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/jack-lews-misleading-claim-about-the-senates-failure-to-pass-a-budget-resolution/2012/02/12/gIQAs11z8Q_blog.html?wprss=fact-checker

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Do Democrats need "60 votes" to start debate though?

Or can they simply initiate a vote via reconciliation and not have to worry about the debate part?

[monolith092068]

7. Here's a pretty good explanation for the Senate not passing a Budget.

--> http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2012/02/parliamentary-procedure

[Wounded Bear]

8. Perhaps because the budget the House passed....

is a RW wet dream unworthy of sane debate?