Senate GOP Eyes Pre-Recess Push on Reconciliation Bill
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Here’s the latest from Washington, DC, this week from our partners at Paragon Government Relations:
With the House passage of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), attention has now shifted to the Senate, where the measure is undergoing committee-level review. This week, several Senate committees unveiled their respective portions of the legislation, including the Senate Agriculture Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
While the Senate Agriculture Committee’s proposal ameliorates some of the most drastic cost-shifts from the House bill, it nevertheless would impose hefty new burdens on state and local budgets. For example, under the Senate proposal, states and counties would be responsible for 75 percent of SNAP/CalFresh administrative costs, up from 50 percent under current law. If implemented, this change would cost California an additional $623 million annually, with counties responsible for an additional $187 million under the current state/county cost-share arrangement. Unlike the House version, however, the Senate bill would soften the proposed cost-share for providing SNAP benefits, which are currently covered completely by the federal government.
It should be noted that much of the Senate reconciliation text has yet to be released, with Republican committee leaders expected to make substantial changes to the House-passed version, reflecting both policy differences and political calculations within the upper chamber.
To stay on track for their self-imposed Independence Day deadline for final passage, Senate GOP leaders are relying on the Senate Finance Committee to deliver legislative text by next Monday. As a result, several outstanding issues – including the scope of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, proposed Medicaid changes, and the rollback of clean energy tax credits – must be resolved in short order.
The SALT deduction remains a central point of tension for the Senate Finance Committee. For their part, Republicans in the upper chamber are seeking to scale back the $40,000 cap included in the House bill. This has prompted warnings from New York Republicans in the lower chamber who have threatened to withdraw their support if the cap is reduced. The House bill’s rollback of clean energy tax credits is another flashpoint, as at least four GOP senators have voiced concern over how aggressively these credits would be phased out and are reportedly lobbying for a more gradual decline.
However, the scope of Medicaid cuts remains the most controversial component of the Senate Finance Committee’s yet-to-be-released legislative text. Several Senate Republicans have voiced strong objections to the depth of the cuts included the House bill and are expected to scale back some of the provisions in H.R. 1. At the same time, fiscal conservatives – including Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) – are concerned that the House bill would significantly increase the deficit, adding another layer of complexity to efforts to secure final passage.
Looking ahead to next week, the legislation will undergo formal review for compliance with the Byrd Rule – a procedural test used to determine which provisions are eligible under the budget reconciliation process. While several Senate committees continue to release draft text, the Finance Committee’s portion is expected to take at least a week to complete its vetting process. Even at this early stage, staff from both parties are already clashing over whether certain provisions – including those tied to AI-linked broadband funding and expanded federal contempt authority – meet the strict standards required for reconciliation.
If the Senate meets its goal to bring the final measure to a vote by the week of June 23rd, floor action will include the traditional “vote-a-rama,” during which Democrats will have one final opportunity to pressure Republicans through unlimited amendment votes. Consequently, GOP leaders will need to ensure that no amendments are adopted that could unravel the underlying deal.
As previously reported, any changes made in the Senate must be ratified by the House, further complicating final passage. Once the Senate acts, the House will need at least a week to move the legislation. Notably, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is expected to invoke the mandatory 72-hour review period before floor action, resulting in an incredibly tight timeline heading into the July 4th recess.
House Republican Appropriators Advance Portions of FY 2026 Spending Legislation
As the Senate grapples with reconciliation, the lower chamber is turning its attention to the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations process. After passing a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) earlier this year, Congress has until October 1st to approve a new budget package.
House Republican leaders are aiming to have four funding bills marked up by the full Appropriations Committee by the end of the week, including legislation that funds spending for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, and Homeland Security.
On Monday, the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee completed markup of its spending bill, which would allocate $66.4 billion for DHS in FY 2026 – a slight increase from current levels. Specifically, the measure would increase funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Transportation Security Administration, while decreasing the budget for several other DHS agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Additionally, the measure would eliminate some immigration services, including the FEMA program that funds humanitarian services to immigrants released from DHS custody. House Republican appropriators aim to complete action on the measure in full committee late on Thursday.
For its part, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up and advanced its FY 2026 spending bill last week. After more than eight hours of debate on Wednesday night, the full Committee delayed approving the funding measure, opting instead to address Republicans’ Defense spending bill on Thursday morning. House Republicans aim to finish marking up the Agriculture funding measure in full committee by the end of the week. If they are unable to do so, they will punt the vote to June 23rd.
All told, the Agriculture appropriations legislation includes $25.5 billion in discretionary funding, which represents a slight decrease compared to last year’s funding levels. The bill would fund programs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nutrition assistance, rural broadband expansion, and the Food and Drug Administration. The legislation also includes measures to limit funding for certain climate-related initiatives and would block new energy standards for USDA-financed homes.
For its part, the House Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Subcommittee marked up and approved its FY 2026 spending bill last week, with the full Appropriations Committee approving the measure early Wednesday almost entirely along party lines. On Tuesday, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee approved its draft bill along party lines in a closed session.
Looking ahead, the full House Appropriations Committee with vote on the Defense spending measure late on Thursday. Several other Appropriations Subcommittees – including Transportation-HUD, Labor-HHS-Education, Interior-Environment, Financial Services, and Energy-Water Development – held hearings this week, though it remains uncertain when the panels will release the draft text of their spending bills.