Each week while Congress is in session, our Policy team delivers a key update to highlight a topical benefits, health, or retirement news item from the Hill, such as a newly introduced bill, a summary of a committee hearing, or another hot-button matter.
On March 11, House Republicans passed stopgap spending legislation, known as a continuing resolution ("CR"), to fund the government through September 30. The legislation passed 217-213. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote against the CR and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) was the only Democrat to vote in support of the CR.
On March 14, the Senate passed the CR by a vote of 54-46 with two Democratic senators, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME), voting in favor and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voting against the CR. Earlier, ten Democratic Senators including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) voted in favor of cloture on the CR. President Trump signed the CR into law on March 15.
The agreed-upon CR cuts non-defense spending by $13 billion and increases defense spending by $6 billion above current levels. The measure also includes a temporary extension of certain telehealth provisions for Medicare enrollees.However, the CR does not include provisions related to pharmacy benefit managers or telehealth for high deductible health plans, items which were dropped from the short-term CR passed in December. Lawmakers are discussing how to advance those provisions on a separate track as they have bipartisan support.
Congress is now on a one-week recess. When they return, lawmakers will turn their attention to reconciling differences between the House and Senate budget resolutions that will pave the way for budget reconciliation legislation providing for spending and tax law changes, including an extension of the expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA"). Republican leadership is meeting weekly with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to develop a consensus on the budget resolution and reconciliation legislation. Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL), a Ways and Means freshman, colorfully described the meetings by saying, "We're looking at the menu. I don't think we've ordered anything." House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) has said he wants the package on President Trump's desk by Memorial Day, but that timeline is looking less likely as lawmakers wrestle with the budget implications of extending the expiring TCJA provisions and other tax policy changes.
To alleviate concerns about the cost of the reconciliation package, some lawmakers are proposing a change to how Congress scores legislation by moving to a current policy baseline. The current rules use a "current law baseline" under which an extension of an expiring tax cut has a cost because it is scored as a reduction in federal revenues. On the other hand, a "current policy baseline" assumes that current law will continue, so extensions to expiring tax cuts do not score as lost revenue. This change would greatly reduce the cost of extending the expiring provisions of TCJA, but is controversial with some lawmakers. In a White House meeting on March 13, President Trump is reported to have expressed his preference for the Senate's current policy baseline approach and to have said that revenue from tariffs and the Administration's gold visa initiative could make up for the $4 trillion loss.
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