Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsay Graham (R-SC) released on February 7 a budget resolution that would provide additional funds for defense spending, border security, and immigration enforcement, and it would likely repeal many of the energy-related tax credits and other provisions enacted in last year’s “Inflation Reduction Act” (IRA). The committee is expected to vote on the resolution on Wednesday or Thursday.
If passed by the committee, the resolution will serve as the blueprint for the first of two reconciliation packages Senate Republicans are hoping to pass this year. “Reconciliation” is a tool that speeds up the legislative process by limiting debate time on a bill and allowing a bill to pass through the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the 60 votes usually required. In exchange for this faster process, the kind of policies lawmakers can enact through reconciliation are limited to those with a direct impact on federal spending, revenues, or the debt ceiling. Because Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House, they can enact a reconciliation package without any bipartisan support.
Chair Graham released the resolution after intraparty disagreements delayed House Republicans from releasing their budget resolution. Instead of the two bills planned in the Senate, House Republicans are aiming to move one massive reconciliation bill that, in addition to the policies included in the slimmer Senate resolution, would extend the corporate and individual tax cuts in the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017” (TCJA) and would likely propose significant cuts to safety net programs, including Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as “food stamps”), and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
According to Chair Graham, if passed the Senate resolution would amount to $85.5 billion in spending, which would be fully offset by spending cuts. These cuts would likely come from repealing funding provided in the IRA, and potentially through cuts to benefit programs. The budget resolution only provides a directive for certain committees to either reduce the federal deficit (i.e., cut funding) or increase the federal deficit (i.e., spend money) by a certain amount; it will be up to those committees to decide how to meet those directives and draft actual bill text. The resolution gives Senate committee chairs until March 7 to submit their proposals.
While housing assistance has not been named as a potential target for cuts, the anti-poverty programs being considered play a crucial role in economic stability for people and families with low incomes, helping them to afford to put food on the table and receive needed medical care. The financial assistance these programs provide also promotes housing stability: by helping families afford the cost of food and other necessities, more money is left over at the end of the month to ensure rent is paid. Also, states can use Medicaid to cover health-related social needs, including housing. NLIHC will continue working with our partners to monitor and oppose any reconciliation proposal that would cut funding for these vital anti-poverty programs.