Senate Set to Vote on Budget Resolution

The Senate released its budget resolution this week and indicated that it planned to vote by this weekend. Because the House and Senate could not reach agreement on a single set of deficit reduction target cuts or spending levels for tax cuts and other priorities, the resolution includes differing instructions for House and Senate committees.

To make use of the reconciliation process, which provides a fast-track process in the Senate, including limited debate and limited amendments, the House and Senate budget resolutions must match and pass each chamber. While the president does not sign a congressional budget resolution into law, President Trump has been putting pressure on both chambers to make progress on the process and work out the details later. This unusual move to pass a resolution with mismatched instructions allows the process to move forward but could cause further delays in the coming months if the House and Senate committees write different legislation.

For the education committees, the resolution includes an instruction for deficit reduction of at least $1 billion for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and $330 billion over 10 years for the House Committee on Education and Workforce. The only program in which to find savings in the jurisdiction of these committees is the student loan program. Changes to loan limits, graduate loans, risk-sharing, and gainful employment for all sectors of higher education are all possible outcomes for this legislation.

For the tax committees, the resolution includes instruction for the House Committee on Ways and Means to spend $4.5 trillion over 10 years, which would provide for the extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The resolution does not include an instruction for the Senate Committee on Finance, as tax bills originate in the House.

The resolution also includes an increase in the statutory debt limit to $5 trillion. The debt limit is expected to be hit sometime this summer.

Assuming passage of the resolution by the Senate this weekend, the House will vote on the resolution next week. Committees will then have until May 9 to write their legislation implementing the deficit reduction cuts or tax spending increases. 

For more information, please contact:
Stephanie Giesecke