thoughts from the Hill
Republican lawmakers have budget specifics to craft, a looming fiscal deadline next month and internal divisions galore over how to get President Trump’s agenda woven into statute as soon as possible.
The House, which moved a GOP budget outline through committee last week, is out until next week while the Senate, still in session, seems intent on marking its own path.
Senate Republicans advanced through committee last week with a two-track blueprint, proposing a first measure that would address border security and defense and a second to extend the GOP’s 2017 tax cuts. The measure is likely to hit the floor for a vote this week. A Senate vote-a-rama to barrel ahead within days would also open the door to Democratic pushback on the floor, which could slow Republican momentum.
House Republicans are trying to cram the president’s priorities into a single bill. Last week in committee, the majority outlined a $1.5 trillion floor for proposed spending cuts spread across committees. House Republicans are preparing a plan that would put a $4.5 trillion limit on the size of the GOP’s proposed tax cuts. It may not be enough to cover some of Trump’s promises to voters.
The House also wants $300 billion for additional border security and defense spending and a $4 trillion increase in the nation’s borrowing authority, which has reached its limit.
To succeed, both chambers ultimately have to come together.
▪ The Hill: The standoff between the House and Senate is escalating. A path forward seems murky and has the potential to be contentious.
▪ The Hill: Medicaid concerns threaten a House GOP budget resolution.
Simultaneously, the pressure on Congress by March 14 will be to avert a government shutdown by passing some version of legislation to continue federal funding. Lawmakers in both parties vow to avert a deadlock Americans have experienced before in Washington and criticized.
The problem? No plan. “We’re trying to work to find some common ground,” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told The Hill.