House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said Friday that it would be a “big problem” if Senate Republicans make material changes to the reconciliation bill approved by the lower chamber earlier this week, Politico reported.
Arrington warned that major alterations could upset the balance of tax cuts and spending cuts and “imperil” President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.
Arrington made the remarks to reporters, one day after the House passed the mega funding bill 216-214. Instrumental in its passing was House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., putting his neck on the line for the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts that House conservatives demanded. The first bill passed by the Senate had just $4 billion in spending cuts.
“There’ll be close coordination,” Arrington said of House and Senate Republican leaders working together, according to the report. “But if, for some reason, the Senate were to change it in a substantial way — for example, if it were to come back and it wasn’t at least deficit neutral, but it actually increased the deficit — I think that would be a huge problem.”
It was reported that Johnson put his speakership on the line with conservatives if the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts did not make the final bill. It was Johnson’s assurance, in part, that converted enough of the “no” votes to pass it.
Arrington said he thinks the House could wrap up the legislative text by Memorial Day but warned major tweaks by Senate Republicans would only “prolong the process.”
“That’s only going to imperil the ‘America first’ agenda,” he added.
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