At the end of the day, there is confidence that a reconciliation bill will get over the finish line even if the road ahead will not be easy.
WASHINGTON—The House approved a blueprint on Feb. 25 that begins the process of passing a major bill that encompasses President Donald Trump’s agenda on the border, energy, and taxes.
Initially, it appeared the votes were not there to have the budget resolution succeed, but it passed 217–215 with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) joining all Democrats in voting against it.
The resolution now goes to the Senate for passage. Both houses of Congress must pass an identical budget resolution in order to unlock the reconciliation process.
This allows for legislation related to taxing, spending, and the national debt to pass without the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate that applies to most legislation.
The House budget resolution calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, and an increase in the debt ceiling by $4 trillion over two years.
A point of contention among Republicans is the instruction in the resolution for the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion from the deficit over a decade; and some are concerned it could lead to Medicaid cuts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Feb. 26 that there would not be such cuts.
“We’re talking about finding efficiencies in every program but not cutting benefits for people who rightly deserve that,” he told CNN.
Johnson said Medicaid should be available for those who need it.
“You don’t want able-bodied workers on a program that is intended, for example, for single mothers with two small children who are just trying to make it,” he said.
“That’s what Medicaid is for, not for 29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games,” he said. “We’re going to find those guys and we’re going to send them back to work.”
The deadline for committees to submit their proposals to the House Budget Committee is March 27.
“This momentum will grow as we work with our committee chairs and Senate Republicans to determine the best policies within their respective jurisdictions to meet budgetary targets,” they said.
“We have full confidence in their ability to chart the best path forward.”
The Senatepassedits own budget resolution on Feb. 21. It called for allocating $175 billion for defense, $150 billion for border security, and cutting the deficit by $4 trillion—all over a decade.
It does not include an instruction for tax cuts.
Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), have called for two reconciliation bills with the second one cutting taxes, while Johnson wants one giant bill that encompasses all of Trump’s agenda.
Thune wants the tax cuts to be permanent, as does Johnson.
“Making the tax cuts permanent is critical because business owners, small business owners, have to have stability,” Johnson told CNN on Feb. 26.
“They’ve got to have certainty as they’re making plans for the future. And this would be good for the economy,” he continued.
In addition to Thune, other Senate Republicans have called for the tax cuts to be permanent as there is skepticism about whether the $4.5 trillion figure is sufficient to make that happen.
“I want the taxes to be permanent,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told The Epoch Times.
“Now that we know the House numbers on the cuts that they’ve put in their instructions, and now that we know where they are … on the baseline, we’ll start working on our adjustments,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) told reporters.
Some Republicans have expressed confidence that a reconciliation bill will get over the finish line even if the road ahead is bumpy.
“It’s going to take us five or six weeks, probably, to dig through all those details and come up with the final proposal,” Johnson told CNN.
“So, everybody just reserve judgment, watch us work, and you’ll like the final product.”
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) said he’s “pretty confident” about getting to the finish line.
“I know we have a couple of colleagues that are concerned, have different concerns, but I think we showed tremendous unity yesterday in passing the bill off the floor,” he told The Epoch Times on Feb. 26.
“And you know, now the Senate can move. We all know what everybody’s capable of doing, and we all have to just lift a little harder. The job is not done.”