House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Republicans met Wednesday to begin discussions on a policy agenda they can muscle through Congress next year if their party has full control of Washington.
Central to the developing GOP agenda is renewing a significant chunk of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that is set to expire in 2025. But Mr. Johnson is urging Republicans to think bigger than extending those tax breaks and look at a wider swath of policy areas that could be packed into a Senate filibuster-proof budget reconciliation package.
The budget reconciliation process allows both chambers to set unified revenue and spending goals for a legislative package and draft policy to achieve those targets. In the Senate, reconciliation bills are subject to strict rules but are not subject to the filibuster, meaning they can pass on a simple majority, party-line vote instead of the traditional 60 votes it would take to clear a minority blockade.
Budget reconciliation is how Republicans and former President Donald Trump passed their 2017 tax law. But after watching Democrats use it to pass much broader legislation under President Biden — the 2021 coronavirus relief law known as the American Rescue Plan and the 2022 climate and tax law called the Inflation Reduction Act — Republicans want to do more if they control Congress and the White House.
“The main idea is let’s think big,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, North Dakota Republican, said.
He said some GOP senators floated “having the guts to talk about mandatory spending” and looking at ways to trim that part of the federal budget without cutting Social Security or Medicare benefits.
Other GOP senators at the meeting said it was effectively a brainstorming session with broad ideas floated such as trying to tackle energy and border policy changes that have been atop the GOP to-do list for years.
While some senators encouraged Mr. Johnson to go big, others cautioned that the Senate “Byrd rule” governing reconciliation may limit his ambitions. That rule says that policies included in reconciliation must have more than a “merely incidental” impact on the budget — meaning the goal is to influence federal spending or revenues, not make significant policy changes.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said Republicans should take note of the policies Democrats tried and failed to get into their recent budget reconciliation bills because of the Byrd rule, like a minimum wage hike and a proposal to create a path to permanent legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants.
A key takeaway from the meeting was a desire to ensure House and Senate Republicans and Mr. Trump are on the same page as they flesh out this policy agenda in the coming months, so they have a unified plan come January.
“Obviously, nobody knows for sure the results of the election,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said. “But I am glad the speaker is thinking proactively about being prepared to hit the ground running on day one. And historically, the first 100 days can be very consequential.”
At least one senator, however, felt holding these policy discussions before the election and subsequent Senate and House leadership elections was premature.
“We don’t have a majority in this chamber. They’re fighting to keep their majority and they’re banking on President Trump getting elected,” Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican, said. “Are we focused on what we should be focused on?”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.