Story highlights Republicans want to pass tax reform using the Senate procedure reconciliation

This was the same process the GOP tried to use to pass a health care bill

(CNN) Republicans who control Congress moved one step closer Friday to overhauling the tax code -- one of their top legislative goals -- in an effort that also puts a repeal of the Affordable Care Act on the back burner for at least the near future.

The Senate budget committee announced provisions that will help the GOP expedite passage of the still-unwritten tax bill as well as legislation to open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.

Republicans want to pass tax reform using budget reconciliation, a procedural tool that would allow them to advance their bill with a simple 51-vote majority, rather than the typical 60. Since Republicans have a 52 to 48 majority in the Senate, the lower voting threshold would make it possible for them to pass tax reform without help from Democrats.

Senate Republicans used budget reconciliation — which can only be used once per fiscal year -- in their attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare this year. But despite many attempts, they failed to pass a health care bill in their allotted time to do so under reconciliation, which expires Saturday.

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