WASHINGTON — Republicans made steady progress on President Donald Trump’s tax reconciliation bill, with more than half of the required committees advancing their portions of the package as GOP leaders scramble to finalize the framework by Memorial Day.
Seven of the 11 instructed committees approved their versions of the reconciliation bill, laying out billions of dollars in government spending and substantial changes to several federal programs. Each of the individual portions have passed out of committees along party lines as Democrats have remained staunchly opposed to the GOP-led legislation.
The committee bills are based on instructions passed earlier this year that give each panel specific guidelines for how much spending to cut or how to allocate increased spending.
The resolution gives the House Ways and Means Committee $4.5 trillion to extend the tax cuts previously approved in Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. To offset those costs, other committees must find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts elsewhere.
Here’s where things stand after the first week of Republicans’ four-week race against the clock:
Ways and Means Committee
Monetary instructions: $4.5 trillion increase.
Status: Awaiting legislative text and scheduled markup.
Background: The House Ways and Means Committee portion of the reconciliation package is among the most complicated.
This section is responsible for extending the tax cuts passed in 2017 but it will also deal with a slew of tax credits passed under the Biden administration that Republicans want to eliminate. The fight over whether to fully repeal former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is heating up as some moderate Republicans consider preserving green energy tax credits to ease utility costs.
There are also internal squabbles about whether to expand federal deductions for state and local taxes paid, also known as SALT. While the issue does not affect most Republicans, there are several in blue-majority states that have made it a crucial issue — even going so far as to threaten final passage if it’s not included.
Lawmakers met throughout the week to discuss both issues, but a final deal has not yet been made.
“We made some progress today, but I think we’re still a little far from a deal,” Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., said on Wednesday.
Energy and Commerce Committee
Monetary instructions: $880 billion in spending cuts.
Status: Awaiting legislative text and scheduled markup.
Background: Aside from the Ways and Means Committee, the most difficult part of the package stems from the Energy and Commerce Committee — and for one big reason: Medicaid.
A recent study by the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency that provides budget and economic information to Congress, showed that lawmakers would likely need to slash Medicaid funding to cover the lost tax revenue from extending the 2017 tax cuts.
In the CBO’s budget projection, Medicaid accounts for roughly 93% of non-Medicare related mandatory spending in that time period. When one removes Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program from the equation, funding under the committee’s jurisdiction is only $381 billion.
Of that amount, more than half is already paid for by collection programs or user fees, according to The Washington Post, meaning that even if the committee slashed programs under the remaining $135 billion, it would still fall far below the $880 billion target outlined in the budget.
Judiciary Committee
Monetary instructions: $110 billion increase
Status: Markup completed; bill passed 23-17.
Background: The House Judiciary Committee advanced its portion during a markup on Wednesday, approving a number of policies related to immigration and deregulation.
The 116-page document outlines a number of new immigration fees, including a first-ever application charge for asylum-seekers as well as a $1,000 fee for parolees. The bill would also establish a $3,500 fee for sponsors of unaccompanied children paired with a $2,500 penalty for sponsors who fail to appear in court.
Notably, Republicans removed one portion of the bill before it was voted on: a provision to transfer the Federal Trade Commission’s regulatory powers to the antitrust enforcement division of the Justice Department. That measure was stripped during the markup meeting after it became clear it could threaten final passage.
Homeland Security Committee
Monetary instructions: $90 billion increase
Status: Markup completed; bill passed 18-14.
Background: The Homeland Security Committee also touched mainly on border security, allocating a total of $68.8 billion in funding.
A major component of the funding is set to go toward completing the border wall, including 701 miles of primary wall, new construction of 900 miles of river barriers, 629 miles of secondary barriers, and 141 miles of replaced vehicle and pedestrian barriers.
It would also allocate $5 million to update deteriorating structures and outdated technology as well as increasing capacity to support current staffing levels and operations.
Agriculture Committee
Monetary instructions: $230 billion in spending cuts
Status: Awaiting legislative text and scheduled markup.
Background: Although there is no text yet, lawmakers on the panel are expected to propose lower cuts than the $230 billion in instructions.
That’s to ease concerns from some lawmakers that they would need to cut assistance to crucial programs such as low-income food programs like SNAP.
Instead, Republicans will push to include portions of the farm bill, a comprehensive piece of legislation overseeing agricultural and food policies that must be renewed every five years. However, its renewal over the last few years has been continually punted as lawmakers have struggled to negotiate bipartisan policies.
Now, GOP leaders are hoping to ease those forthcoming negotiations by passing a substantial portion of the farm bill in reconciliation.
Other committees that completed their portions
Six other committees also completed their portions of the bill this week, including Education and Workforce; Armed Services; Oversight; Transportation and Infrastructure; and Financial Services.
All of those committees were instructed to find spending cuts except for Armed Services, which was given $100 billion in increased funding.
Between the other four, they were instructed to find at least $391 billion in spending cuts.
What else to watch for: Natural Resources
Monetary instructions: $1 billion in spending cuts
Status: Legislative text released; markup scheduled for next week.
Background: The text includes a number of proposals to reform oil and gas lease sales and royalties, returning much of those rates to pre-Biden numbers.
The bill would also include some changes to the permitting process to hasten energy projects by limiting environmental assessments.
The bill is scheduled for a markup on Tuesday, after which it will be voted on.