Summarize:
* The Senate passes a budget resolution, a key step on the way to tax reform.
* It still needs to reconcile its budget proposal with a different one passed by the House.
* Once Congress approves a budget, it will start writing a tax bill that Republicans hope to pass this year.
Senate Republicans approved a $4 trillion budget measure Thursday, taking a crucial step toward their goal of passing a tax plan this year.
President Donald Trump’s drive to overhaul the U.S. tax code cleared a critical hurdle on Thursday when the Senate approved a budget blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year that will pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support.
The chamber approved the budget resolution by a 51-49 vote. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only GOP senator to vote against it.
The budget measure, which would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade in order to pay for proposed tax cuts.
But Democrats are likely to oppose the Trump administration’s tax plan, which promises to deliver up to $6 trillion in tax cuts to businesses and individuals.
Senators will now have to reconcile their budget resolution with a separate one passed by the House. The other chamber could simply choose to pass the Senate budget blueprint.
The House budget resolution calls for a revenue-neutral tax bill and would combine tax cuts in the same legislation as $203 billion in spending cuts to mandatory programs including food assistance for the poor. The Senate version instructs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to save at least $1 billion over the next decade.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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