On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 into law ( P.L. 115-123 ). The act directed the joint select committee to "provide recommendations and legislative language that will significantly reform the budget and appropriations process." The act required the report and the proposed legislative language to be approved by a majority of each of (1) the committee members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate and (2) the committee members appointed by the House and Senate minority leaders. These procedures were intended to allow the Senate to reach a timely vote on the question of whether or not to consider legislation embodying the recommendations of the joint select committee, but the act did not specify any procedures governing consideration of the bill once the Senate agreed to take it up. There were no provisions in the act concerning the consideration of the recommendations of the joint select committee in the House. There were also no provisions concerning resolving any differences between the House and Senate or the consideration of a veto message from the President. Such actions would have occurred under the regular procedures of each chamber. The motion to consider a joint committee bill—and all debatable motions and appeals in connection with the motion—would be considered for a maximum of 10 hours, evenly divided between the majority leader and the minority leader (or their designees). In order for the recommendations of the joint select committee to be considered by the full Senate, the act required that the motion to proceed be agreed to by a vote of three-fifths of all Senators—60 votes if there is not more than one vacancy. Finally, the act directed that not later than the last day of the 115 th Congress (2017-2018), the Senate must vote on a motion to proceed to a bill containing recommendations of the joint select committee. Committee Hearings24

The joint select committee held five days of public hearings. April 17: current challenges facing the budget and appropriations process in Congress and possibilities for improvement; May 9: challenges of the current procedural framework, particularly as it relates to the ability of Members to work effectively and in a bipartisan manner regardless of political dynamics; May 24: the role of the budget resolution and possible options to bolster its impact and influence on subsequent budgetary actions; June 27: testimony heard from 27 Members of the House and Senate (and written statements received from 5 others), including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Hou se Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi; July 17: former Members' historical perspective on enacting budgetary legislation in the context of the challenges presented by both the politics and the framework of the budget and appropriations process. The cochair's mark included a recommendation that the budget resolution be adopted for a two-year cycle rather than the current annual cycle. In that markup, the committee agreed by unanimous consent to apply a voting rule for the adoption of amendments consistent with the rule required by the act for final adoption of any recommendations. This agreement required separate majorities of the appointees from each party. The final vote on reporting the draft bill, as amended, was not agreed to by a roll-call vote of one aye and seven noes of the Members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader and seven ayes and zero noes of the Members appointed by the House minority leader and the Senate minority leader.
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123), signed into law on February 9, 2018, created a joint select committee of the House and Senate. The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform was to be made up of 16 Members from the House and Senate—4 chosen by each of the chambers' party leaders. The act charged the joint select committee with formulating recommendations and legislative language to "significantly reform the budget and appropriations process." The law directed the committee to make a report no later than November 30, 2018, to be submitted, along with legislative language, to the President, the Speaker of the House, and the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate.
The act included procedures intended to allow the Senate to reach a timely vote on the question of whether or not to consider any legislation embodying the recommendations of the joint select committee. Under the terms of the act, the Senate would be able to vote on a motion to proceed to consider any reported joint committee bill before the conclusion of the 115th Congress (2017-2018). Consideration of the motion to proceed (and all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith) was to be limited to 10 hours, equally divided and controlled by the majority and minority leaders (or their designees) with support of at least three-fifths of the Senate (60 votes if there is no more than one vacancy) necessary to approve the motion. The act did not specify any procedures governing consideration of the bill once the Senate had agreed to take it up. There were also no provisions in the act concerning the consideration of the recommendations of the joint select committee in the House nor any provisions concerning resolving any differences between the House and Senate. Such actions would have occurred under the regular procedures of each chamber.
During its lifespan, the joint select committee held five days of hearings, taking testimony from 12 outside witnesses and 27 Members, including then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Formal and informal discussions among committee members resulted in draft legislation to be considered in a markup that concluded on November 29, 2018. The chief recommendation in the draft provided for the budget resolution to be adopted for a two-year cycle rather than the current annual cycle. By unanimous consent, the committee members applied a voting rule for the adoption of amendments consistent with the rule required by the act for final adoption of any recommendations requiring separate majorities of the appointees from each party. The final vote on reporting the bill as amended was not agreed to by a roll-call vote of one aye and seven noes of the Members appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader and seven ayes and zero noes of the Members appointed by the House minority leader and the Senate minority leader.