House Budget Committee Republicans Pass Resolution for Third Reconciliation Package

By Kim Johnson, NLIHC Senior Policy Director   

On July 16, the House Budget Committee Republicans advanced a budget resolution for a third reconciliation package. In addition to considering fiscal year (FY) 27 spending bills, republicans on the House Budget Committee passed the framework for what would be the third reconciliation bill enacted by the Republican-controlled Congress in the last two years. The outline, known as a “budget resolution,” would provide roughly $95 billion in additional spending, including $60 billion for defense, $13 billion for intelligence operations, $12 billion in farm relief, and $10 billion to assist with the administration of the “Safeguard American Vote Eligibility (SAVE) Act,” a voter suppression bill pushed by the White House.  

The resolution must be adopted by both the House and Senate before committees can put together legislative text for the full reconciliation package. While House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) hopes to bring the resolution to the House floor for a vote as soon as next week, it is not clear whether it has sufficient support to pass—with every Democrat in the House voting against the bill and a very narrow majority, Speaker Johnson will need nearly every member of his party to vote in-favor of the resolution to continue moving it forward. Several fiscal conservatives have expressed concerns over the resolution’s high price tag, which does not include cuts to other programs to help offset the proposed spending increase.   

“Ultimately, we decided this legislation, for a whole host of procedural reasons, was not the place in order to codify some of the things that we're doing in the anti-fraud task force,” said Vice President J.D. Vance in an interview. Republicans already enacted massive spending cuts to critical human needs programs, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), through their first reconciliation package, H.R.1; any additional cuts to these or other anti-poverty programs would push more people off of assistance and further into financial hardship.   

The resolution also faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where lawmakers—including all Senate Democrats and Republican Senators Thom Tills (R-NC), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Mitch McConnell—have repeatedly voted against the “SAVE Act.” Senator Tillis emphasized during a speech on the Senate floor that he would oppose any bill trying to move provisions from the “SAVE Act,” stating “[if] I see a reconciliation bill come from the House with another failed attempt to confuse this election, I will use every device I have available to slow down the wheels of government until people cop a clue and do the math." 

NLIHC and our nonpartisan Our Homes, Our Votes campaign strongly oppose the “SAVE Act,” and joined a sign-on letter in February 2026 with more than 130 national, state, and local organizations led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights strongly opposing the bill.