House GOP Releases Budget Resolution

By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans released their budget resolution Wednesday, laying out a vision for raising the debt limit and drafting a reconciliation package that is significantly different from the one Senate Republicans released last week.

The House budget resolution proposes Congress pass one bill that would extend the 2017 tax cuts passed during Donald Trump’s first term and boost spending on border security and defense, while paying for the trillions in an increase to the deficit with cuts to other government programs.

The House’s budget resolution, which the committee will mark up on Thursday, would also raise the debt limit by $4 trillion. The United States has amassed $36.22 trillion in debt over decades.  

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote in a social media post there are still many steps for GOP lawmakers to go through before they’ll be able to send Trump a bill.

“With nearly every House Republican directly engaged in this deliberative process, this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the President’s full agenda—not just a part of it,” Johnson said.

“There will be ongoing debates and discussions in the coming weeks, and we remain focused on working through the process to deliver on our promises made to the American people,” Johnson added. “There’s still much work to be done, but we are starting on the right path.”

Democrats predict a substantial portion of those cuts will be made to Medicaid, which is the nation’s health care and long-term care program for 80 million people with low incomes, run in partnership with states.

House Democratic Assistant Leader Joe Neguse, of Colorado, said during a press conference the GOP budget resolution and the outline for a reconciliation package were a “betrayal of the middle class” that would “cut Medicaid, end it as we know it, and ultimately reward billionaires and corporations.”

“We know that this rip-off plan that they’re pursuing within the Budget Committee will increase costs, not decrease costs,” Neguse said. “You don’t decrease costs by gutting Medicaid.”

Senate plows ahead

Senate Republicans were meeting Wednesday on their own budget resolution, which would move core policy goals through two separate bills.

The first would include $175 billion for border security, $150 billion for defense and about $20 billion for the Coast Guard. All of it would be paid for by cutting funding on other government programs.

Congress would need to adopt a second budget resolution under the Senate’s plan in order to extend the 2017 GOP tax law.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said during the markup that he believes Congress needs to move quickly to approve spending on defense and border security, before coming back to negotiate a tax bill.

Graham also said that under his proposal for reconciliation, work on “comprehensive immigration reform” would wait until later.

“I am dying to work with my Democratic colleagues to fix a broken immigration system, but that only happens after you regain control of your border and you deport the people that should have never been here to begin with,” Graham said.

How it works

Both chambers of Congress must vote to approve the same budget resolution with identical reconciliation instructions before they can unlock the process that allows them to move a bill through the Senate without getting at least 60 votes to advance past the legislative filibuster.

Republicans in the House and Senate are currently on different paths, but will ultimately have to agree on one or two reconciliation bills. Their other options include negotiating a deal with Democrats or setting aside many of their campaign promises.

The House budget resolution would send reconciliation instructions to several committees that would then be tasked with drafting their portion of the package before March 27.

The House Committee on Ways and Means, chaired by Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, would be able to increase the deficit by up to $4.5 trillion in its bill, which would extend the elements in the 2017 tax cuts law set to expire late this year.

The Armed Services Committee, led by Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, would draft a bill to spend about $100 billion on various defense programs.

The Homeland Security Committee could spend up to $90 billion on various border security programs. Tennessee Rep. Mark E. Green will draft that bill as chairman of the panel.

The Judiciary Committee, run by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, would be able to write its bill to spend up to $110 billion.

Areas to be cut include agriculture

The Agriculture Committee, chaired by Pennsylvania Rep. Glenn Thompson, would write a bill cutting at least $230 billion from the various programs in its jurisdiction.

The Education and Workforce Committee, led by Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg, would need to cut at least $330 billion from the departments and programs under its purview.

The Energy and Commerce Committee, run by Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie, would need to find at least $880 billion in cost savings to help Republicans pay for the other parts of the bill.

Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat, wrote in a statement the panel’s eventual reconciliation bill would likely impact Medicaid, calling it a “heartless and cruel proposal.”

“The consequences of this budget will be devastating. One in three Americans rely on Medicaid for their health coverage and this Republican budget will eviscerate that care,” Pallone wrote. “Millions of Americans will lose their coverage, hospitals will be forced to close, and Community Health Centers will be forced to lay off doctors and nurses.”

The Financial Services Committee, chaired by Arkansas Rep. J. French Hill, is charged with finding at least $1 billion in savings to help offset the cost of the border security, defense and tax provisions.

The Natural Resources Committee, led by Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman, would need to find at least $1 billion in savings.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, run by Kentucky Rep. James Comer, would need to cut at least $50 billion.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, is tasked with cutting at least $10 billion. 

Last updated 1:03 p.m., Feb. 12, 2025