Congress Faces Hurdles on Budget Reconciliation
Published April 07, 2025
By AACOM Government Relations
Federal Policy
- On April 2, 2025, Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey Graham unveiled the text of a compromise budget reconciliation blueprint that would make President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent and increase the debt limit by $5 trillion.
- The blueprint melds elements of the Senate’s earlier framework with the House's resolution, H Con Res 14, which would provide $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, at least $2 trillion in spending cuts and increase the debt limit by $4 trillion. Both chambers adopted their initial versions in late February.
- Budget reconciliation is a fast-track budgetary tool that can be used to advance the party’s priorities with a simple majority vote in each chamber.
- Both chambers must adopt identical resolutions to start the reconciliation process. Then, the designated House and Senate committees prepare the budgetary policies to meet the prescribed amounts of savings/reductions outlined in the budget framework.
- The Senate adopted the resolution in a 51-48 vote over the weekend, teeing it up for a vote in the House this week.
- Internal GOP divisions threaten progress as hardline House conservatives are already threatening to withhold support for the Senate-passed resolution due to a lack of sufficient spending cuts.
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