WASHINGTON – House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a $95 billion legislative plan focused on boosting defense, aiding farmers and enacting stricter voter registration rules, a sequel to the massive tax and spending cut bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last year.
The 47-page outline, called a budget resolution, is a long-shot undertaking designed to supplement Pentagon funding for the Iran war and address Trump’s top priority of changing voter registration requirements. A more ambitious version was narrowed to address concerns of conservatives about how it would be paid for and adding to the deficit. The resolution does not seek any offsets to pay for the new spending.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed ahead after meeting with Trump at the White House this week in what will be the Republicans’ calling card to voters this fall heading into the midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake.
“Safeguarding American elections and strengthening our national defense are the most basic responsibilities of Congress,” Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson welcomed the chance to again use a legislative process that will allow Republicans to overpower Democratic objections and eventually approve legislation on a party line majority vote, saying the Democrats won’t be able to block their GOP priorities “any longer.”
Democrats, however, have argued against the sharply partisan path, particularly for matters of war funding.
The Budget Committee is expected to consider the outline Thursday, ahead of floor action in the House next week.
Billions of dollars for the Iran war
The bulk of the $95 billion would go for the U.S.-led war against Iran, reflecting the White House's request for supplemental spending to rebuild stockpiles and fund classified programs, among other expenses related to Operation Epic Fury.
The resolution calls for the House Armed Services Committee to craft legislation that will not increase the deficit by more than $60 billion; the Select Committee on Intelligence, $13 billion; the Agriculture Committee, $12 billion; and the House Administration Committee, $10 billion.
The latter funding would be focused on enacting aspects of an election law overhaul that requires those registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship and is a top Trump priority.
Overall, the plan is on par with a request the White House submitted to Congress last month, as the Iran war drags past four months. But it falls far short of the $350 billion increase the White House proposed for the Defense Department through the reconciliation process in its own budget this year.
Approving extra war funding will be difficult, even among Republicans supporting the Iran effort, as the nation confronts staggering annual deficits, reaching nearly $2 trillion this year.
Trump pushes Congress for voting law changes
Both the House and the Senate would have to pass the same budget resolution to launch the crafting of the party line bill, which is politically difficult in the Congress where Republicans hold only narrow majority control.
Along with the war funds, the package would include some $10 billion for voting law changes, the GOP's effort to impose strict citizenship requirements in line with provisions of the SAVE America Act, which has been a top Trump priority.
Trump has insisted that Republicans approve the elections overhaul bill, which has passed the House but does not have the votes to overcome the 60-vote threshold in the 100-member Senate. So Republicans are looking to get parts of it through the arduous reconciliation process that allows both chambers to pass a bill with a simple majority.
It's unclear how the budget package would impose or fund voting law changes and if any alterations could be made before the midterm elections, with many state elections processes already underway.
Overall, passage of the package would be a lengthy process, with much of the action taking place after lawmakers return from their August recess and during the heart of election season. Republicans hope to kick off the effort before they leave town at the end of the month.
Democrats mount opposition to the GOP package
The additional aid for farmers dealing with higher gas and fertilizer prices and retaliatory tariffs has become an election year priority for many lawmakers with large rural constituencies.
But even the addition of that type of farm aid is not likely to be an incentive for Democrats to lend support for what is essentially a Republican-only bill. Democrats are expected to overwhelmingly oppose whatever final product emerges and force Republicans to take votes on scores of difficult amendments.
Johnson, of Louisiana, applauded Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and others on the panel for moving swiftly to advance the resolution and unlock what would be Republicans' third reconciliation bill this Congress.
Trump's big tax breaks bill last year and the Homeland Security funding bill this year both passed largely along party lines.