Senate Begins Vote-a-Rama on Revised Budget Resolution

On Thursday, April 3, the Senate voted 52-48 on the motion to proceed with debate on H.Con.Res.14, the Senate’s new fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget resolution, triggering a statutorily required 20 hours of debate. Both the House and Senate previously adopted their respective budget resolutions in February, but the two versions differed significantly. The Senate’s new budget plan is a revised version, combining elements of both and aligning with President Donald Trump’s stated preference for one bill that includes major GOP priorities.

The new resolution utilizes a “current policy baseline.” This approach would allow Congress to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s (Pub. L. 115-97) expiring tax provisions, with no apparent cost even though, as a practical matter, the extension of the expiring provisions would still be deficit financed. The resolution’s instructions to Senate committees also provide for up to $1.5 trillion in additional tax spending, $175 billion in new immigration spending, $150 billion in new defense spending, and an up to $5 trillion increase in the debt limit. This would likely suspend the ceiling until after the 2026 midterms. The instructions to House committees differ slightly, providing for up to a $300 billion increase for defense, border and immigration spending; tethering up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts to a $2 trillion reduction in spending; and raising the debt limit by $4 trillion.

Once the time for debate expires, the Senate enters the amendments portion of the budget resolution process commonly known as a “vote-a-rama.” During this phase, the rules allow senators to propose modifications to the resolution until their list, or their will to continue, is exhausted. Once amendment votes are completed, which is expected to occur sometime Saturday morning, the Senate will pass the budget resolution. 

Please click here to access Brownstein’s vote-a-rama tracker, which contains a running list of filed amendments and will be updated in real time as amendments are considered on the floor.

THIS DOCUMENT IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE BUDGET RESOLUTION AMENDMENT VOTE IN THE SENATE. THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT ARE NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THIS DOCUMENT OR IF YOU NEED LEGAL ADVICE AS TO AN ISSUE, PLEASE CONTACT THE ATTORNEYS LISTED OR YOUR REGULAR BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK, LLP ATTORNEY. THIS COMMUNICATION MAY BE CONSIDERED ADVERTISING IN SOME JURISDICTIONS.