The Republican Speaker of the Senate has indicated that Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, has the exclusive power to assess whether the provisions of a significant bill infringe upon the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 or any other budget legislation.
Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) previously stated that the chair would not uphold budgetary order against the substantial bill unless Graham, in his role as budget president, raised a legitimate objection.
According to Hagerty, in line with the “Current Policy” baseline, the 940-page Senate bill means that the Budget Committee must defer to decisions made by the committee under Graham’s “current policy.”
Hagerty emphasized that unless Graham argues that the bill’s provisions or amendments breach the 1974 Budget Act, the Speaker would not contest the budget order related to the legislation.
Graham has justified his authority over the bill by invoking Section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), a key member of the Budget Committee, quickly challenged the chairman’s ruling.
He referred to a letter from Philip Swagel, the director of the Congressional Budget Office, which claimed the financial aspects of the bill would add $3.5 trillion to the federal deficit from 2025 to 2034, surpassing the 10-year budget cap that ends in 2034.
“A chair’s ability to fabricate baselines has never been previously accepted for settlements,” Merkley contended.
“This undermines a 51-year tradition of maintaining honest numbers in the Senate,” he declared.
Merkley’s challenge to regain control of the chair that empowers Graham was unsuccessful, with the vote tallying 53 to 47.
The Senate is now conducting a series of all-day amendments and votes on the GOP tax and expenditure bill, with final passage anticipated for Monday night.
