Capitol Hill Update: Gametime for House GOP Budget Resolution

House lawmakers will gavel in for legislative business today as Republican leadership looks to adopt its budget resolution by tomorrow evening. While the House’s plan to pass “one big beautiful” reconciliation package has momentum over the Senate’s thanks to the president’s endorsement, GOP leadership still has work to do to so that its budget resolution is adopted with the support of the entire GOP conference. Notably, one Republican lawmaker, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), has publicly stated that she intends to vote no at this time. Other Republicans in the House have publicly expressed concern about proposed cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and Pell. Additionally, some Ways and Means Committee tax writers, including Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), have pushed back on a provision that ties the overall size of the tax package to the amount of spending cuts ultimately achieved. There is also some consternation among conservatives over raising the federal debt limit through the reconciliation process.

• Situational awareness. Assuming that the House can get its resolution adopted this week, negotiations between House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) are expected to intensify with the goal of getting one uniform budget resolution through both chambers. The tax portion of the House’s plan is expected to be the biggest pressure point in these talks as Senate Republican leaders have stated they will not support a tax package that does not permanently extend provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). However, Congress is also pushing up against the quickly-approaching March 14 government funding deadline — and appropriators have reported that they remain gridlocked over the topline spending figure for fiscal year (FY) 2025. As such, bandwidth both on and off the floor is expected to be tight as leadership looks to shepherd through these “must pass” priorities.

• In addition to the House budget resolution, GOP leadership has teed up consideration of a pair of Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions that seek to overturn Biden-era regulations, specifically on energy standards for gas-powered water heaters (H.J.Res. 20) and emissions charges for petroleum and natural gas systems (H.J.Res. 35). For today, the chamber will consider a slate of suspension bills out of the House Small Business Committee. This includes legislation that would establish a research and development (R&D) agreement between the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure small businesses are included within activities covered within the agreement. Meanwhile, the Senate will resume consideration of pending Trump administration nominees, including Daniel Driscoll to be Secretary of the Army and Jamieson Greer to be United States Trade Representative (USTR).