House passes Senate version of budget which paves the way for tax reform
WASHINGTON- The House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly approved the Senate version of a budget resolution that helps Republicans move forward with tax reform legislation.
The lower chamber approved the FY 2018 budget resolution in a 216-212 vote.
The $4.1 trillion budget resolution proposes $1.5 in tax cuts as well as large cuts to social safety net programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
The House earlier this month approved a budget resolution that called for even greater spending cuts.
Lower chamber approval of the Senate budget resolution eliminates the likely time consuming process of reconciling differences between the two bills in a conference committee.
Had the House rejected the measure, Republicans likely would not have been able to move forward with tax reform legislation because the resolution contains reconciliation instructions.
Reconciliation lowers the threshold for breaking a filibuster and allows the Senate to pass tax reform legislation with a simple majority as opposed to sixty votes.
Republicans control 52 seats. The upper chamber’s 46 Democrats and two independent members are unlikely to support the proposal.
House Republicans are expected to release the text of their tax reform bill next week.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
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