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Category: Budget

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House Republicans passed their multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation package this morning, a major victory for Speaker Johnson and President Trump. The passage comes after weeks of infighting amongst Republicans, with both moderate members and conservative hardliners threatening to withhold their support over certain provisions. Eventually, after a meeting with President Trump and last-minute changes made by Republican leadership, the bill passed by a 215-214-1 vote. Every House Democrat voted no. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) were the two Republicans who voted against the legislation. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-MD.) voted present.

The legislation includes $3.8 trillion in tax cuts and cuts to Medicaid and SNAP coupled with the phase out of clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. These programs were cut in order to offset the impact of the extension of President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will result in $698 billion in cuts to Medicaid and $267 billion in cuts to SNAP.

Additionally, the bill makes significant changes to higher education legislation — particularly student borrowing. If signed into law, this package would cap lifetime borrowing for a student or their parents at $200,000 and eliminate entirely subsidized student loans and Grad PLUS loans. The bill also includes changes to Pell Grant eligibility, the creation of a risk-sharing program for universities, and would cap the availability of federal aid to the median cost of a specific program nationally.

The reconciliation package now heads to the Senate for consideration, where it will likely be significantly altered.  While reconciliation bills are not subject to the filibuster in the Senate, meaning only a simple majority is needed for passage, there are stricter rules around what can be included in the Senate. Furthermore, many Senators have expressed misgivings over many of the cuts made by House lawmakers.

 

 

 

GOP Tax Package Advances Out of Committee

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Early Wednesday morning, after more than 17 hours of debate, the House Ways and Means Committee voted to advance out of committee the legislative package containing a slew of President Trump’s top tax priorities. The panel advanced the legislation in a 26-19 party-line vote after rejecting numerous Democratic-led amendments.

The tax bill now heads to the House Budget Committee, which is tasked with combining all the portions of the Trump agenda bill into one package in advance of its consideration in the entire chamber.

The 389-page package makes the income tax rates from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 permanent and implements some of the president’s campaign promises, including no tax on tips or overtime through 2028 and a temporary increase of the child tax credit.

This bill also includes the Republican proposal to increase the endowment tax on some universities. Under the 2017 law, private universities with endowments of over $500,000 per student were subject to a 1.4% tax. The current GOP package creates a tiered excise tax system that would significantly increase taxes on some universities:

  • 1.4% tax for schools with endowments between $500,000 and $750,000 per student.
  • 7% tax for schools with endowments between $750,000 and $1.25 million per student.
  • 14% tax for schools with endowments between $1.25 million and $2 million per student.
  • 21% tax for schools with endowments above $2 million per student.

The bill also narrows the definition of students counted for tax calculations. International students on temporary visas and undocumented students will be excluded from the count, increasing the tax burden on institutions with large international student populations.

Crucially, the endowment tax would still only apply to private universities, although some religiously affiliated institutions will be exempt.

While voting the package out of committee is a significant step, there remains a strenuous process ahead of GOP leadership as they seek passage of the reconciliation legislation. The Ways and Means portion must be packaged together into one “big, beautiful bill” by the House Budget Committee before being voted on by the entire House, which will be difficult given concerns from different GOP factions and the razor-thin margin in the House. If the bill does manage to pass, it will be subject to potentially significant changes in the Senate, where it will also face staunch Democratic opposition.

Helpful links:

The Hill

Inside Higher Ed

 

 

HHS Budget Hearing

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The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies will meet in open session at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Room 124 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled: A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Health and Human Services. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be the witness. Live video webcast of the hearing can be found here:  www.appropriations.senate.gov.

 

 

 

House Education & Workforce Committee Unveils Reconciliation Language

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Republicans on the House Education & Workforce Committee on Monday proposed sweeping changes to higher education in order to meet their budget reconciliation goal of saving $330 billion over the next 10 years.

The draft legislative text will be marked up in Committee on Tuesday morning. Prior to the markup, Republican Committee Staff circulated a summary of the draft text, which is included below.

4.29 Reconciliation Bill Summary

Continuing Resolution Unveiled

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On Saturday, House Republicans unveiled a stopgap measure to fund the government through September, setting up a vote on the resolution that would avert an impending government shutdown. The 99-page continuing resolution (CR) is expected to be considered by the House Rules Committee on Monday, with a floor vote expected Tuesday, though it remains unclear whether Republicans have the votes for passage.

The proposed CR would maintain current discretionary spending levels through the end of the fiscal year, though it does include some anomalies. In total, these anomalies increase defense spending by $6 billion, including funds for shipbuilding and military pay raises, and decrease nondefense spending by $13 billion. Also included are a number of extensions for healthcare programs, including: Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program, funding for the National Health Service corps and the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education Program, and the delaying of scheduled cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospitals.

Notably, the CR does not raise the debt limit, which Congress must adjust in the coming months. It also does not include any earmarks for individual legislators.

While President Trump came out in support of the bill shortly after its unveiling on Saturday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) still faces an uphill battle as he works towards whipping enough votes for passage. House Democrats have quickly come out in opposition to the CR, voicing their frustrations over having been left out of the negotiations. Many Democrats have also cited concerns over the lack of guardrails on President Trump and his adviser Elon Musk’s attempts to unilaterally slash government spending.

If all members are present and voting, Johnson can afford just one Republican defection. If House Republicans are able to unify and pass the CR, it will face an even more difficult challenge in the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to cut off debate on the bill to get to a vote. With a 53-47 majority, and one member already voicing their opposition (Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky), Republicans will need Democratic votes for passage. So far, not a single Democratic member in either chamber has said they will vote yes.

As a reminder, Congress must pass and the President must sign a CR by midnight on the 14th to prevent a partial government shutdown.

Link to CR text