The budget wars are about to begin. Yet, in January, moderate Senate Democrats offered an olive branch as the Trump tax cuts expired: they’d be willing to work with Republicans on tax cuts without going through the reconciliation process. They promised they would deliver enough votes to break filibusters (via Politico):
A group of eleven moderate Senate Democrats say they want to work with Republicans on addressing the GOP's expiring tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling.
In a new letter to Republican leaders, they say they are willing to cut spending, protect family-oriented tax policies, have “competitive” rates on businesses — and that they can provide enough votes to allow Republicans to overcome a filibuster in the Senate without having to resort to so-called reconciliation.
The lawmakers say they’re otherwise worried Republicans will tack the $4 trillion cost of extending their tax cuts onto the deficit, which will increase interest rates for everyone, something nonpartisan budget forecasters have recently warned about.
“We understand that the Senate Republican conference is likely to use the budget reconciliation process to address these expirations,” said the letter, put together by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Mark Warner (Va.), both of whom sit on the tax committee. “While we respect the majority’s right to do so under Senate rules, we believe a better outcome can be achieved by working in a bipartisan manner to reform the tax code and address our growing national debt through responsible spending reforms.”
“We believe a fully deficit-financed, partisan effort could risk raising costs for families, driving up interest rates for Americans looking to purchase a home, and increasing borrowing costs for American businesses and consumers.”
Republicans appear unlikely to take them up on the offer, though it presents a potential answer to many of the jams they now face.
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The main one Senate Republicans face is not from Democrats but House Republicans, as both sides want to approach the budget differently (via Axios):
The House GOP says it's ready to go first on reconciliation, warning it won't even consider the Senate GOP's bill on the border, energy and defense.
Why it matters: This escalates the strategic fight between the two chambers over how to get the Trump tax cuts extended past this year — while also adding billions in spending on deportation infrastructure and the military.
The Senate wants two bills, handling border security, energy and defense first. Tax cuts would come later this year.
The House wants one big bill, arguing it would be too hard to pass two distinct measures.
House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) plans to start marking up a House bill on Thursday or Friday, he told reporters on Tuesday.
We’ll keep you posted, but this is bound to get messy. What else is new?
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