Back from Recess, Congress Dives into High-Stakes Budget Reconciliation

The House returned from its two-week recess on Monday and is busy with the reconciliation process.

• Before leaving, the House narrowly passed the Senate budget resolution (216-214).
• It contains upwards of $5.3 trillion in tax cuts, relying on the current policy baseline that assumes the 2017 Trump tax cuts are extended indefinitely with no additional cost.

What’s next: The resolution sets a May 9 deadline for committees to draft the tax cut portions. However, the markup in the Ways and Means Committee, which includes LIHTC, historic preservation tax credits, clean energy tax credits, and other tax policies, is expected for May 12 and 13.

Around the same time in May, President Trump will likely release his budget requests to Congress for the separate FY 2026 budget. News reports indicate he plans to drastically reduce federal funding for HUD programs, including the Section 8 Housing Voucher Program.

• During his confirmation hearing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner stated he believed the goal of the voucher program was to “get people into self-sustainability,” not “a lifetime on subsidies.”