Budget Plan to Advance Trump’s Agenda Heads for House Floor Vote

The House Rules Committee on April 9 advanced the compromise budget resolution that would unlock the process to pass a bill reflecting President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The vote was 9–3. The full House is scheduled to vote on the resolution on Wednesday afternoon.

The Senate passed its version of the budget resolution on April 5.

The measure largely reflects both the House and Senate’s previously passed versions. It provides Congress with a floor and ceiling for spending and cutting targets without having to come to a consensus.

There has been a divide among conservatives and moderates on numerous issues, including the extent of deficit cuts, Medicaid cuts, and raising the debt ceiling.

A budget resolution unlocks the process known as reconciliation, which allows legislation related to taxation, spending, and the national debt to pass the Senate with a simple majority, avoiding the 60-vote filibuster threshold that applies to most bills. The resolution must pass both chambers of Congress. It is not subject to the president’s signature or veto, though the reconciliation bill is.

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“We ought to address these imperatives without delay, and that means proceeding to the reconciliation process and continuing our work that began just a few short months ago,” she said.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), the committee’s ranking member, said the budget resolution was immoral. He said that a reconciliation bill would add to the national debt, include tax breaks for billionaires, and adversely affect hungry kids, seniors, and working parents.

The compromise budget resolution instructs the House and Senate to allocate $100 billion and $150 billion, respectively, toward defense over a decade. It would also make the 2017 tax cuts permanent. It also includes measures related to border security and American energy.

The resolution would have the House raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, while it would have the Senate do so by $5 trillion. This is an issue for members of the House Freedom Caucus such as Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.). The national borrowing limit is scheduled to be reached within the next few months.

Norman told The Epoch Times in a text message that the resolution is “DEAD ON ARRIVAL” in the House.

Another issue is the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s being instructed to cut at least $880 billion from the deficit over a decade, leading to fears that Medicaid will be cut.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that only waste, fraud, and abuse will be cut from the entitlement program.

Johnson can only afford to lose three GOP votes if all Democrats are in attendance and voting against the resolution.

Trump has repeatedly called on House Republicans to pass the measure.

“Close your eyes and get there. It’s a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding,” he said on April 8 at a fundraiser dinner for the House GOP’s campaign and finance arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee.

During the House Rules Committee meeting, McGovern mocked that remark.

“I would just add to that, close your eyes, cover your ears, and hide your calculators,” he said.

Trump criticized those who have expressed reluctance or objections to the resolution.

“If we don’t get it done because of stupidity or a couple of people who want to show how great they are, you just have to laugh at them or smile at them or cry right in their face,” he said.

There are as many as 40 House Republicans undecided about the resolution, according to Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.).

Arjun Singh contributed to this report.