A potential GOP budget reconciliation package would provide up to $60 billion for the Department of Defense. An aerial view of the Pentagon is shown. (Photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brittany A. Chase/Department of Defense)
WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. House Budget Committee approved their budget resolution Thursday, a diminutive step forward in a complicated process that could allow the party to pass legislation that complies with third-party rules.
The 20-14 vote came after hours of debate over Democratic amendments that sought to roll back parts of earlier Republican packages and change how the upcoming process would work. None of the Democrats’ changes were approved.
Texas Republican Chip Roy, Texas Republican Veronica Escobar and Virgin Islands Democratic delegate Stacey Plaskett did not vote.
House Republican leaders are likely to introduce a budget resolution next week before the chamber goes on a five-week August recess, currently expected to end on July 23.
The Senate will then deliberate for an additional two weeks before beginning its summer break, although it is unclear whether GOP leadership in that chamber will bring the budget bill to a vote.
The process of providing funds for defense and farms
Both houses of Congress must pass a budget resolution to unlock the budget reconciliation process, which will allow them to introduce another bill without Democratic support.
House Republicans said during committee debate that they hoped the next package would provide up to $95 billion. This currently unpublished measure would escalate aid for farmers, provide more funding to the Department of Defense and implement portions of a voter ID law they call the SAVE America Act.
“We’re going to use reconciliation to try to do what we think will save this country for the future of our children and for the rest of this century,” said Budget Committee Chairwoman Jodey Arrington, D-Texas. “I can’t think of a more important thing to work on.”
Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, the committee’s top-ranking member, criticized Republicans for not focusing on how to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.
“Over the last 18 months, we have seen what Republican priorities are: trillions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires, tens of billions of dollars for war, and absolutely nothing for the American people,” Boyle said.
Democratic changes rejected
During the debate, Democrats introduced more than a dozen amendments, including one by Vermont Rep. Becca Balint that would have removed instructions for the Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
The Republican budget resolution, if approved by both chambers, would allow the Armed Services Committee to spend up to $60 billion and the intelligence panel up to $13 billion.
“My colleagues are using the deficit as an excuse to justify the growing hunger and deepening poverty in this country,” Balint said. “They call for fiscal responsibility, and yet when it comes to approving tens of billions of dollars in additional Pentagon spending, they are a rubber stamp.”
Michigan Republican Jack Bergman opposed the proposal, saying additional defense funding “is essential to support our troops and provide them with ammunition and everything they need to fight, win and come home safely.”
In addition to directing more defense spending, the budget resolution would allow the Agriculture Committee to write a bill that would provide farmers with up to $12 billion in additional aid.
The Administration Committee would be able to spend up to $10 billion, possibly creating a grant program for states that establish voter ID requirements.
