For months now, House and Senate Republicans have discussed a way to fund President Donald Trump’s agenda. With a slim Republican majority in the House and Senate, passing a large appropriations package is nearly impossible. With a 60-vote threshold on such a bill, they would have to negotiate with Democrats. Even proceeding to another continuing resolution (CR) would pose problems with House Freedom Caucus members and undermine all DOGE efforts. However, reconciliation is one legislative vehicle they can use to their advantage.
Reconciliation is a procedure that allows Congress to amend mandatory spending streams with only a simple majority. The Senate has further restrictions on what is included in the bill to ensure that the subjects are solely fiscal and do not affect outlays or revenue. This was implemented by the late Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) deeming it the “Byrd Rule.” Even though the House does not have this same rule, they must be careful in what they place into the bill lest it be stripped out by the Senate. To proceed to a reconciliation bill, both chambers must agree on a budget that includes instructions for reconciliation.
The Senate was the first to move forward with a budget resolution. Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsay Graham (R-SC) promised “help is on the way” by tackling three of President Trump’s top priorities — border security, defense, and energy independence. The over $300 billion resolution would finish building the border wall, increase the number of detention beds at the border, increase ICE agents and prosecutors, and fund cooperation between state, local, and federal law enforcement efforts. Our branches of the military will receive an increase in funding for recruitment and readiness purposes. Additionally, this bill will increase American energy through on and offshore lease sales and eliminate the Biden administration’s natural gas tax. A projected $85.5 billion in increased spending will occur over the next four years from this bill, however, the committee claims to have offsets through other budget cuts.
While the Senate resolution is tracking with the President’s agenda, there are some missing pieces that House Republicans have pointed out including tax cuts. Plus, the Senate cannot move forward on additional spending without a deal with House Leadership seeing that all such fiscal matters must originate in the House. Instead of one big bill that the House and the President already agreed upon, this arrangement forces a second bill into play. Having two bills will significantly slow down the President’s agenda from being enacted and may even cause lawmakers to lose steam after working so hard on the first.
The House began working on a separate budget resolution before recessing this week. Included are provisions that align with last Congress’s Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, reel in Biden’s Green New Deal initiatives, reform welfare programs to include work requirements, make the President’s tax cuts permanent, stop student loan forgiveness, and fully fund our nation’s defense. The House Freedom Caucus which is known for being staunch fiscal conservatives are optimistic about this bill. They were given a seat at the table and advocated for even more cuts to the budget. The caucus Chair, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), stated:
This is it. We declare victory. I mean, we have a bill that we believe that it had to be done rapidly to get the president the border funding as soon as possible. We believe it had that meaningful deficit reduction, and we believe it had to be able to advance the President’s tax policy. It all happens here.
Often, the media plays House and Senate Leadership against each other inflating an issue more scandalous than reality. The difference in budget resolutions is a prime example of this. After much back-and-forth between the House and Senate Budget Committees and meetings at the White House, the President diplomatically commented:
We don’t want to get hung up on the budget process … whether it’s one bill, two bills, I don’t care. They’re going to work it out one way or the other. But the bottom line, the end result, is going to be the same.
Both chambers hope to have the reconciliation bill to the President’s desk by Easter. At this rapid pace, it is possible to be done. Through President Trump’s motivation and unity among Republicans, we are hopeful that our federal government can get back on track to serve the American people once again. Be sure that you are signed up for an Eagle Forum Membership to ensure that you are receiving the latest news and resources on this issue and more!
