Reconciliation 3.0 Update
July 21, 2026
Last week House Republicans passed the instructions to begin the third reconciliation bill through the Budget Committee and will consider it on the House Floor this week.
Why it matters: The reconciliation process allows certain spending priorities to pass the senate via a simple majority. The One Big Beautiful Bill and the more recent funding for ICE, customs and border patrol were passed via reconciliation.
By the numbers: The instructions provide for $95 billion across the following committees:
- Armed Services: $60 Billion
- Agriculture: $12 Billion
- Intel: $13 Billion
- Admin: $10 Billion
Go deeper: The framework includes a scaled-back version of the SAVE America Act, as well as funding related to the Iran war and farm aid.
- While leadership is trying to move this swiftly, there are a number of issues that will impact this partisan package.
- Fiscal hawks are upset that there are no “pay-fors’ for the package, defense hawks think the funding level is far too low, and some conservatives want the full SAVE America Act included.
The Senate picture is also complicated. Sen. Ron Johnson is taking over as Senate Budget Committee Chair following Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death and will now play a central role in shaping the reconciliation package.
Some Senate Republicans are already criticizing the House approach as rushed and incomplete, arguing it does not include the White House’s full supplemental request or President Trump’s push for an additional $350 billion in defense funding
Contact David McCarthy (dmccarthy@crefc.org) with questions.