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The US House of Representatives has approved a budget resolution that requires trillion dollars in tax and spending downs, in an important victory for President Donald Trump as he seeks to adopt comprehensive changes in fiscal policy.
The resolution passed by 217 votes in 215 after a campaign by the chairman of the Mike Johnson Chamber to postpone Republican holders to support Trump’s “Beautiful Bill”.
The draft law, which will start another round of Senate Budget talks, proposes $ 4.5tn to reduce taxes, about $ 2TN to reduce spending and the allocation of hundreds of billions more for military and border security over one decade.
“Today, the Republicans of the house transferred the congress closer to the surrender of President Trump’s first agenda to America – not just parts of it,” the Republican leaders of the house said.
Since the Republicans hold a thin majority in the room, even a small number of opposing votes from within the party would have risked approval of the bill.
The three Republicans of the House – Tim Burchett, Victoria Spartz and Warren Davidson – had shown that they would vote against him, but they all fell on the line behind the mayor. Thomas Massie was the only Republican who voted against him. Before the vote, Massie posted on X: “If the Republican budget passes, the deficit deteriorates, not better.”
Budgets are non -binding resolutions that describe fiscal goals. They signal to Congress Committees to increase or reduce costs, but do not set specific programs to be intended.
After the Senate passes the budget, the Republicans in Congress can begin a process known as “reconciliation” and ultimately pass legislation without democratic support that extends tax reduction approved during Trump’s first term in 2017.
The draft law instructs the Energy and Home Trade Committee to reduce $ 880 billion in expenses, an action that is widely seen as aiming at the Medicaid Health Insurance Program for low-income Americans. Similarly, a call to the Agriculture Committee to reduce spending by $ 230 billion aims to a food aid scheme called the Supplementary Food Aid program.
According to the non-partisan committee for a federal responsible budget, the new measures would add at least $ 2.8TN to the deficit by 2034.
“Truly indestructible that when faced with multitrillion dollar deficits and debt climbing to high record levels, lawmakers’ response is to pass a budget allowing themselves to add more trillions to debt over the next decade,” Said Maya Macguineas, President of the Committee.
But Joshua Bolten, the chief executive of the business table lobby group, applauded “Home to advance a fy 2025 budget resolution. The room voting marks an important moment in the work of the Congress to protect and enhance the economic benefits that tax reform given to businesses, workers and American families. “
The home budget will also increase the debt ceiling by $ 4TN, something that would temporarily remove the threat of a debt default.
Democrats described the budget as a “shame”. Leaders of the new Democratic coalition, a group of moderate Democratic lawmakers, said: “He betrays families working by reducing funds for critical programs they are based on to help pay their bills and keep food at the table, All as they line up the republican megabillionaire pockets like Elon Musk with trillions of dollars in the tax collection tax. ”
Johnson faced resistance from Republicans concerned about the possible impact on Medicaid, as well as those who thought the bill should go further to regeneration of spending.
Party leaders have protected cuts, insisting they will stimulate economic growth and, along with other Trump measures such as tariffs, growth grows in deficit. Independent analysts oppose the extent to which economic profits will compensate for deficit growth.
The passage of the draft law comes as Congress leaders are struggling to adopt legislation to avoid a government closure on March 14.
Additional reporting by James Polititi in Washington