The House voted 216-212 Thursday to pass the $4 trillion FY2018 budget resolution clearing the way for a widely expected tax bill. No Democrats voted for the budget and 20 Republicans voted no as well.
Many of the Republicans that voted against the bill are from predominantly urban districts in states like New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the elimination of the state and local tax deduction, a looming debate in the upcoming tax negotiations, would hit hardest. Every Republican member of the California and Illinois delegations supported the budget, and several New York members waited to cast their no votes until GOP leaders had obtained a majority.
The budget resolution, identical to the Senate version passed on October 19, authorizes a special procedure known as reconciliation allowing Republicans to pass a tax bill with just 51 votes instead of the usual 60. Reconciliation would also prevent a filibuster.
The House Budget Committee crafted a budget resolution intended to cut $200 billion in federal spending over the coming decade and foresaw that the tax bill would not add to the federal deficit. The Senate version that passed Thursday calls for $5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, though with no specifics regarding where those cuts would fall. It also authorizes a tax bill that would add up to $1.5 trillion to the deficit.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (TX-08) said in a statement after the budget vote that he will introduce a tax reform bill on November 1. He added that his committee will begin a committee markup on November 6. House Speaker Paul Ryan (WI-01) has called for the bill to clear the House by Thanksgiving, and the Senate is expected to engage in a parallel process, though with no timetable.
If both chambers succeed in passing tax legislation, a conference would be called to resolve the differences between the two chambers.
