Four committees are permitted to increase spending, while all others must suggest deep cuts in their areas of jurisdiction.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives, after returning from its spring recess, is set to begin drafting bills that will authorize funds for President Donald Trump’s policy objectives. The “markups”—long sessions in which bills are considered, amended, and advanced to the full House—are set to begin in the week of April 28 to May 2.
The bills are being drafted under the aegis of the “budget reconciliation” process, whereby Congress can pass and present special legislation to the president that concerns taxation, spending, and public borrowing without requiring the support of 60 senators in the Senate to invoke cloture and prevent a ‘filibuster.” Since 2016, the most consequential legislation in federal politics has often been enacted through the reconciliation process, such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Trump wants one bill to be passed by Congress, using this process, that funds his proposal to construct a wall along the border with Mexico, increase removal operations against foreign nationals unlawfully present in the United States, and permanently enact several tax rate cuts of the TCJA set to expire at the end of 2025. On April 10, the Senate and House finally concurred in a budget resolution that determined the parameters of the substantive bill, which will be drafted by the House Budget Committee with input from other standing committees, whose markup sessions for this purpose are underway.
Most significantly, the budget resolution has details on which policy areas will increase their spending and, correspondingly, where spending will be cut. The standing committees are required to recommend new spending or cuts based on those details, which will occur during the markups. There, the committee reviews line by line a draft bill proposed by the chairman and receives amendments from members, which then receive a vote. They are often long sessions, since the minority party usually offers many amendments designed to undermine the bill.
By Arjun Singh
