Three key House committees advanced portions of their reconciliation bill this week after marathon markups, inching the chamber closer to passage of the final tax and spending bill.
The House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday passed its portion of the bill, which would cut roughly $290 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over 10 years, while including roughly $60 billion of those funds to authorize and fund portions of the next Farm Bill.
The SNAP savings would come primarily from a cost-share program with the states, as well as work requirements imposed on Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs).
The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday also passed its portion of the package, which includes a permanent extension of most of the first Trump administration’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The tax portion of the bill also includes some campaign promises from President Trump, including no tax on tips or overtime through 2028 and a temporary increase in the child tax credit.
The price tag for the Ways and Means Committee’s portion of the bill is expected to be in the $3.8 trillion range.
Finally, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed its portion of the package after a 26-hour, overnight markup. Numerous changes would be made to Medicaid, including the implementation of work requirements.
All three markups included hundreds of amendment votes from Democrats that ultimately failed. House Republicans are utilizing the budget reconciliation process, which enables passage with a simple majority in both chambers.
These bills will now be combined into a single package, which will then head to the House Budget Committee, the House Rules Committee, and finally to the House floor. Numerous House Republicans are requesting changes to the bills passed by the committees, complicating upcoming votes in Budget and Rules.
Once passed by the House, the Senate will consider changes to the legislation. Once passed by the Senate, both chambers will have to reconcile differences before sending a final bill to the president’s desk.
The Department of the Treasury has said it expects the X-date, or the date at which the Treasury is likely to run out of authorized funds to pay for basic functions, is somewhere in August. This gives Congress until then to pass the package, which includes authorization for more spending in the form of a debt limit increase.
