HOUSE PASSES BUDGET PLAN: 16 DAYS REMAIN IN CONTINUING RESOLUTION

The House  approved a budget framework (H.Con.Res.14) Tuesday night, in a 217-215 vote. Congress has less than two weeks (16 days) left to pass a budget measure and send it to the President’s desk, with the current continuing (CR) resolution (H.R.10545) extending fiscal year 2025 funding expiring March 14. 

Adopting the budget measure is a big step toward passing one singular, large bill that includes border security, tax and energy provisions. President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) support passing the budget in a singular bill via reconciliation, as opposed to a two-step process proposed by the Senate.  

The House and Senate must adopt identical budget resolutions to utilize reconciliation, however. Reconciliation allows a party with unified control of Congress and the White House to pass massive policy bills along party lines, avoiding a Senate filibuster that could otherwise torpedo the budget resolution.  

However, the Senate and House have their disagreements. The Senate is looking to avoid deep cuts to Medicaid, and Senate Republicans want a budget that won’t only extend the President’s 2017 tax cuts temporarily. That may mean significant changes for the House version, which was already a divisive bill for House Republicans.  

Reflecting these differences, The Senate passed their own budget resolution last Friday, in a 52-48 vote (S.Con.Res.7). Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) have pieced together a bill that would fund border security, defense, and energy programs, with a bill that would include tax cuts and spending cuts to be passed as the second step in their two-bill strategy. 

Regarding the House version, The Medicaid cuts in question would be under the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee, who have been tasked with cutting $880 billion in sending over 10 years, to pay for the tax cuts, border security and energy exploration Republicans want in the bill. This decade long undertaking could also result in cuts to energy programs, such as clean energy credits. 

The President is expected to release his proposed fiscal year 2026 budget by the end of March, after the CR expires.

ECA will continue to provide updates on the budget battle as the deadline approaches and developments occur. If you are interested in learning more about budget and appropriations, visit our website.