House Republicans Release 2018 Budget Proposal

House Republicans released their budget plans on Tuesday that would overhaul the tax code and slash government spending.

The House Republican budget would spend $4 trillion would overhaul the tax code, partially repeal the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul, and save $203 billion from entitlement programs such as food stamps over the next ten years.

House Republicans hope to move from a $472 deficit in 2018 to a $9 billion surplus in 2027. The House Budget Committee assumes 2.6 percent annual growth that Republicans would obtain that level of economic growth through tax, healthcare, and financial reform and other reductions in regulation. The Congressional Budget Office assumes an annual 1.9 percent economic growth rate over the next ten years.

The budget includes $621.5 billion in defense spending and $511 billion on non-defense discretionary spending in 2018.

The budget assumes that President Donald Trump signed the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA) into law, a measure that conservative senators such as Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) killed, arguing that the bill does not repeal enough of Obamacare. Conservatives such as Rand Paul, Mark Meadows (R-NC), and Jim Jordan (R-OH) mocked the AHCA, labeling it “Ryancare” and “Obamacare-Lite.”

Republicans need to pass a budget and then use budgetary reconciliation to pass a tax code overhaul. Budgetary reconciliation allows Congress to pass legislation with a simple majority in the Senate; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell controls a slim majority in the upper chamber, he can only afford to lose two votes and have Vice President Mike Pence break the tie.

House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black (R-TN) said the budget is “not just a vision for our country, but a plan for action.”

The House Budget Committee will vote on the plan later this week and then send to the House floor to vote.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney proclaimed, “It is a bold effort that follows the leadership of President Trump in Making America Great Again. Critically, this budget lays a pathway for Congress to pass, and President Trump to sign pro-growth tax reform into law.”

Read the 2018 House Republican budget plan here.