(a) The rite in the Catholic Church formerly known as penace.
(b) A process whereby congressional resolutions are harmonized with the budget. Under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, it provides a procedure to consider (certain types of) bills without allowing a fillibuster in the Senate. As such it’s suddenly become the hot topic legislatively. I would explain further but I’d muck it up. Instead, read this by Sarah Binder over at the Monkey Cage. It’s very lucid.
