Republicans are looking to take the first step to jumpstart the budget reconciliation bill: Writing the instructions that will govern the terms of the package. But they’re stuck in limbo amid an ongoing debate about whether to go with a one- or two-bill strategy.
House and Senate Republican leaders have been struggling to decide if they’ll pass one package on the border, taxes and energy, or whether to do two bills that splits off taxes.
To start the reconciliation process, Budget Committees in both chambers have to write instructions that would both detail how many bills they plan to pass and direct relevant committees to develop language. It’s the first formal step in the budget reconciliation process, which would allow Republicans to pass priorities without help from Democrats.
But Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) signaled Monday that they’re still discussing the terms and lawmakers haven’t written the instructions yet.
“Well, we’re going to be talking about that,” Graham told reporters when asked if his committee is moving forward with instructions yet.
Graham also indicated he had concerns about putting everything in one package, worried that taxes could delay border policies that could be in a separate bill.
“I think it would be smart to increase military spending and give the money Trump needs to deport people and secure the border early on. I just think the national security implications of delay are pretty significant,” he said.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are now weeks into debate over whether to break off tax cut proposals into their own separate bill so they can pass priorities on the border and energy more quickly. Speaker Mike Johnson has recently been selling his colleagues on a one-bill strategy while Senate Majority Leader John Thune has backed the two-bill push. Incoming President Donald Trump has said he prefers one package, but that he’s open to two bills as well.
Many Republicans on Capitol Hill say they will defer to Trump’s preference on how to move forward.
“Whatever direction President Trump wants us to go in, that’s the direction. If he wants one beautiful bill, we’ll do one beautiful bill. If he wants two beautiful bills, we’ll do two beautiful bills,” Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) said Monday.
But Republicans need to move forward with writing the reconciliation instructions soon if they want to hold to their ambitious timeline of moving at least one bill by the end of April. Negotiations will likely only get more complicated from here — the instructions are typically considered a simpler part.
“We ought to get something done, hopefully, in the month of January,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said Monday.
Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
