Reconciliation Timeline
April 29, 2025
Congress is back from a two-week recess and will begin working on the legislative details to enact the reconciliation legislation.
Why it matters: The House has set a target for floor consideration in the week of May 19. Senate consideration would come in June as both chambers will be out the following week for the Memorial Day recess. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has set a goal of July 4 as the deadline for the tax portion of the bill.
What’s next: House Committees will begin to mark up portions of the budget reconciliation package at the committee level this week.
- Markups will commence in Armed Services, Education and Workforce, and Homeland Security on Tuesday, and Financial Services, Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight on Wednesday.
- Some of the more contentious portions of the package will be considered next week, including potential changes to Medicaid.
- Tax legislation markup is expected in the week of May 12, though specific dates have yet to be announced.
The Senate does not plan to mark up the bills in committee.
- Key senators will likely negotiate with leadership on potential changes to the House’s final product.
- The Senate also has the additional hurdle of the “Byrd Bath” where the parliamentarian considers whether certain spending provisions follow the budget reconciliation rules.
- After the Senate passes its version, any changes could be accepted by the House, or legislative leaders could convene a bicameral conference committee like they did in 2017. The conference bill would then need to be passed by both houses before going to the president.
The bottom line: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) are confident about a summer timeline, but the pending “x date” for the federal debt ceiling may add pressure.
- Treasury is expected to issue a report in mid-May with a detailed estimate for when the U.S. will hit its borrowing limit.
- Current estimates suggest the U.S. could hit its budget limit at any time from mid to late summer.
Contact
David McCarthy (
dmccarthy@crefc.org) with any questions.