ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Christmas tree bill

Okay kiddo, a Christmas tree bill is a special kind of bill in the United States Congress that has a lot of different things added to it, kind of like how a Christmas tree has a lot of different ornaments on it.

Basically, politicians will take this bill and add in a bunch of smaller proposals that they want to pass but might not be able to on their own. So, the Christmas tree bill becomes a way to huddle different proposals together, with each one being like an ornament on the tree.

Some of these proposals might be things like new laws for the environment, education, healthcare, or even taxes. So instead of having to pass a bunch of separate bills, politicians put them all together in one big bill, like a Christmas tree.

However, not everyone in Congress agrees with this method, as it can be seen as a sneaky way to pass unrelated proposals under a bigger and more popular bill. But for now, Christmas tree bills are still used by lawmakers, and they can sometimes help get important proposals passed that might have struggled on their own.

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