House Republicans unveiled their blueprint for a third budget reconciliation bill early Wednesday morning, targeting roughly $95 billion to go toward military spending and enacting portions of President Donald Trump’s desired proof-of-citizenship and voter ID megabill.
The 47-page resolution was released on Wednesday, offering instructions to four different committees to draft the bill over the coming weeks. Those instructions lay out spending ceilings including $60 billion for House Armed Services; $10 billion for House Administration; $12 billion for House Agriculture; and $13 billion for House Intelligence.
Exact details of how that spending will be used are not yet determined. The instructions released on Wednesday only offer spending maximums for each committee, which will then draft the actual spending legislation in the coming weeks.
The final package is not expected to contain major spending cuts to offset the costs.
The spending bill will go through the budget reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to bypass the 60-vote filibuster and approve the legislation mostly along party lines. It’s the third reconciliation bill Republicans will attempt since Trump was elected last January.
The $60 billion for the Armed Services Committee closely mirrors the defense spending supplemental request made by the White House earlier this summer to cover the costs for the Iran war, according to senior House Republican aides.
That spending total is expected to be divided into $55 billion for military programs and roughly $12 billion for classified programs.
The package will also seek to enact portions of the SAVE America Act, an election reform bill being pushed by Republicans but has been stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition.
“Safeguarding American elections and strengthening our national defense are the most basic responsibilities of Congress and are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement.
There have been concerns that the SAVE America Act does not adhere to the strict rules of the budget reconciliation process. However, House Republicans hope the budgetary instructions to the House Administration Committee, under which the election bill will be included, will be eligible.
The House Budget Committee is scheduled to mark up the framework on Thursday morning, after which House GOP leaders hope to put the proposal on the floor next week before the annual August recess.
It’s not yet clear how quickly the Senate will schedule a vote. Senate leaders have not yet tapped a new Budget Committee chairman to lead the process after the sudden death of former Sen. Lindsey Graham over the weekend.
Still, Republicans hope to get the package drafted and passed before the November midterm elections, when control of Congress will be up for grabs.
Trump has approved the proposed spending levels for the bill, according to GOP aides.