Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) said at Tuesday's Senate Republican Dinner that Congress would first embark on a budget reconciliation package focused on border security and defense next year and then act on it. He presented an ambitious plan to do so. They reached an agreement this year on a second round of settlements to extend Trump-era tax cuts that are set to expire.
Thune presented the plan during a half-day meeting of the Senate Republican Conference at the Library of Congress, where President-elect Trump called on Republican lawmakers to act quickly and decisively on his agenda.
While extending Trump's tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of next year, is a top priority, Thune has suggested that Senate Republicans act first on proposals to secure the border and increase defense spending, according to people familiar with the conversations. It is said that there is. .
“We're going to have multiple packages. We're not going to do a one-time settlement,” said a Republican senator who attended the meeting. “What we're debating now is do we do it first at the border, and then because of the complexity of the tax, do we go back and extend or reduce the tax?” [package]. ”
The senator said there is an emerging consensus within the Republican conference that a budget reconciliation package would fund the completion of President Trump's border wall and provide additional funding for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said the idea was to take advantage of the situation and “immediately embark on the border.” Execution.
Republican senators say Thune has also floated the idea of converting discretionary defense spending into mandatory spending and passing it through the budget reconciliation process.
The maneuver would shield defense funding increases from bipartisan negotiations over top spending limits in the 12 annual spending bills.
Democrats have traditionally called for increases in non-defense social spending to match increases in defense spending.
By converting a portion of defense spending into mandatory spending and placing it under the protection of the budget reconciliation process, Republicans could keep discretionary defense spending low without compromising military readiness.
Republicans are also considering a proposal to expand domestic energy protections in the first budget reconciliation package.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.C.) said Senate Republicans will try to pass border security policy based on budget reconciliation during the first 30 days of President Trump's second term.
“I’m going to try it out a little bit,” he said of the accelerated schedule. “I want to start by making sure our borders are secure.”
“We want to help reduce energy costs and we want to support the military. We want to be all in,” he added.
By advancing the bill as part of a budget reconciliation package, Republicans could avoid a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.
Budget reconciliation bills can pass with a simple majority in the Senate, but the Byrd Rule requires that the items they include have no direct effect on spending, revenue, or the deficit.
