On Thursday, the House passed the Senate-passed version of the budget reconciliation bill by a vote of 218-214, sending the Republican party-line package of domestic priorities to President Trump for his signature ahead of the July 4th holiday, meeting their latest self-imposed deadline. President Trump plans to hold a signing ceremony tomorrow. Two Republicans voted against the bill, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
The Senate passed the package on Tuesday in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance providing the tie-breaking vote. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted for the bill after receiving significant provisions for her state. Three Senate Republicans voted against the bill, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Tillis, who said he was voting against the bill because it would cause many of his constituents to lose Medicaid coverage, announced he would be retiring at the end of this term.
Ahead of the vote for final passage, House Republicans set a record for the longest House vote, holding open a procedural vote for 7 hours and 24 minutes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also set a record for the longest House floor speech. Speaking for 8 hours and 44 minutes, Jeffries said the budget reconciliation package was an “all-out Republican assault on health care”. Regarding the bill’s impact on Medicaid, Jeffries said, “people will die. Tens of thousands, perhaps year after year after year as a result of the Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people. I'm sad. I never thought I would be on the House floor saying this is a crime scene."
The package, which extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts, would reduce revenues by $4.5 trillion and reduce spending by $1.2 trillion, adding $3.3 trillion in budget deficits over the next 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The package would increase border security and defense spending. Changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act would result in roughly 11.8 million more uninsured people by 2034, according to the CBO, while SNAP funding would be cut by 20 percent. The debt limit would also be increased by $5 trillion.
Workforce Pell was included in the Senate and House passed package. After the provision had been found by the Senate Parliamentarian to be in violation of the Byrd rule, the provision was revised to limit eligibility solely to Title IV accredited institutions, eliminating the previous expansion of eligibility for high-quality, workforce programs that met certain requirements. Other education provisions include endowment tax increases, accountability measures, and the streamlining of loan repayment plans, including the termination of the SAVE plans for new loans starting July 2026.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) discussed two more reconciliation bills this Congress. “You can do a reconciliation budget for each fiscal year [the reconciliation bill which passed this was for the FY 25 year]. So, the plan is to do one in the fall for the FY 26 budget year, and then we can also squeeze in a third one for FY 27 before this Congress is up.”
An overview from Inside Higher Ed may be accessed here.