The annual budget battle in Congress will start early this year and will likely focus on policy, including a possible plan to pass welfare reform or a replacement for Obamacare.
The Republican-led House and Senate has far less time to pass a budget this year, thanks to the presidential and congressional elections in November.
Lawmakers have shortened the work calendars in both chambers, carving out seven weeks of recess time in part to accommodate the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which will be held consecutively in the second half of July.
With less time to work, GOP leaders have decided to speed up consideration of the 2017 budget resolution, a non-binding spending plan that helps determine spending limits during the appropriations process.
“Given the number of days that we have, there are a few things that we are going to have to do differently,” Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters this month. “We are going to have to move the budget up.”
Rather than vote on the resolution by the end of March, McCarthy said the House is aiming to approve it by the first week of March, moving it out of the House Budget Committee by the end of February.
According to Republican aides, the recent snow closures on Capitol Hill will not change that goal.
It’s an ambitious timeline, helped by the fact that the two parties have already agreed on a topline number that increases federal government discretionary spending in 2017 by $30 billion over the budget caps mandated under the Budget Control Act.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the House will stick to the agreed-upon spending increase. That leaves Republicans with more time to decide what policy changes to include in the budget resolution under the reconciliation process, which requires only 51 votes to pass in the Senate rather than the typical 60 votes.
Budget resolutions are typically difficult to pass because of disagreement within the parties over federal spending levels. Conservatives in particular are not in favor of the increased spending levels.
Last year, the GOP included a reconciliation sweetener for conservatives in the form of a provision repealing much of Obamacare, a top Republican priority.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Republicans would be looking for an incentive this year, too.
“To me the issue is, is there something we want to use the reconciliation process for that will unify us,” he said.
Republican leaders won’t say what measures are on the table, but lawmakers involved in the talks say reconciliation could include a replacement for the healthcare law or welfare reform.
Both issues are top priorities for Ryan, who said he wants Republicans to produce a policy agenda in 2016 even though it won’t get signed into law.
“Most of us say, if we’ve got to do a budget, let’s put reconciliation in,” said Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, who heads the Republican Study Committee, the largest faction of House conservatives. “The question is, what is the reconciliation component.”
Flores said Republicans are weighing a provision to replace Obamacare, or a plan to reform welfare programs.
Republicans have pitched a variety of ideas on healthcare, including allowing insurance purchases across state lines and reforming malpractice lawsuits.
Ryan has made welfare reform a key priority. He hosted a poverty summit last month and has introduced his own plan to reform and reduce the cost of welfare programs.
Getting a budget passed is more difficult in the Senate, where the Republican majority is smaller than in the House and lawmakers often vote to include dozens of amendments.
“I can’t guarantee it but we are going to give it our best,” Cornyn said.
