House Republicans have released their framework for a massive conservative policy overhaul to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda, just as the Senate advances its own version of the plan.
House and Senate GOP lawmakers have been at odds over how to go about executing Trump’s policy goals, and an earlier delay by House GOP leaders to kick-start the process in their chamber frustrated Senate Republicans, who released a narrower version of the House’s proposal.
Both chambers are aiming to advance their proposals on Thursday, with the Senate beginning its process Wednesday.
House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a broad range of Trump policy goals, from border security to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.
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Senate Republicans are moving ahead of the House on reconciliation. (Reuters)
By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, it will allow the GOP to use their razor-thin majorities to get legislation signed into law with zero Democratic support, provided the measures included relate to the budget and other fiscal matters.
The House’s 45-page legislation directs $300 billion in new spending for homeland security, defense and the judiciary, while directing at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts for other areas of the federal government.
The text also calls for $4.5 trillion in new spending for the House Ways & Means Committee, aimed at extending measures in Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are expiring at the end of this year.
The bill notably lifts the debt ceiling by $4 trillion – a key demand by Trump after projections showed the U.S. could run out of cash to pay its debts in the middle of this year if Congress does not act.
The bill would also set a goal of reducing mandatory spending by $2 trillion, with the caveat that a failure to find $2 trillion in savings would result in a reduction to the $4.5 trillion sum aimed toward Trump’s tax cuts. All sums are factored over a 10-year window.
Senate Republicans had advocated for a two-bill strategy, arguing that separating border, defense and energy priorities from taxes would enable Trump to score a quick victory on issues that Republicans broadly agree on.
House Republicans are concerned that the significant political capital needed to pass a reconciliation bill with razor-thin majorities will mean Trump’s tax cuts will expire before the GOP can reckon with them this year.
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Rep. Ralph Norman said conservatives have “strong feelings” about what needs to be in the reconciliation bill. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The plan being advanced by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., includes new funding for border security and defense while offsetting those costs by rolling back green energy policies and other progressive Biden administration priorities.
Graham has dismissed multiple public pleas by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to allow the House to go first in the process. The House had delayed initial plans to advance a resolution last week after GOP fiscal hawks demanded deeper spending cuts than what leaders initially offered, between $300 billion and $600 billion.
Johnson said this week that Graham’s bill is a “nonstarter” in the House.
It’s not clear as of Wednesday afternoon, however, whether all the House’s differences are resolved.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a fiscal hawk on the budget panel, told reporters that conservatives were still seeking additional items to be included in the resolution before the scheduled meeting to advance it on Thursday morning.
“It’s dependent on what we add to it,” Norman said when asked if he would support the bill on Thursday. “And it’s not just coming from me, it’s others too.”
He said of the public bill text, “We had to get this out as a skeleton. We’ve got to fill the skeleton in. And a lot of us have some real feelings, strong feelings, about what’s being included.”
Meanwhile, Republicans on the Ways & Means Committee are concerned that $4.5 trillion may not be enough to enact Trump’s tax policies over the next 10 years.
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“I have some concerns regarding Ways & Means not being provided with the largest amount to cover President Trump’s tax cuts – especially [State and Local Tax deduction (SALT)] relief and a tax reduction for senior citizens, which are both also priorities of mine,” committee member Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital.
“We will need to play with the parameters to see what we can come up with to satisfy members of our committee and conference,” Malliotakis said.
House GOP Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore, R-Utah, told reporters that Republicans needed to be realistic about their expectations.
“We may not have every tax benefit. Everybody’s going to have to give,” Moore said.
