An Update on Reconciliation
This morning, Senate Republicans released a budget resolution that directs the House and Senate’s Homeland Security and Judiciary committees to write a reconciliation bill by May 15. This action, essentially, kicked off the reconciliation process Republicans hope to use to pass more funding for immigration enforcement.
The resolution instructs each committee to spend no more than $70 billion each ($140 billion total), although Republicans reportedly hope to cap the whole bill at around $70 billion. GOP Members want this funding to cover Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three-and-a-half years — so, into the next president’s administration.
Why does the budget resolution matter?
In telling specific committees to write parts of the reconciliation bill, the budget resolution defines the universe of topics the bill can possibly cover. The final bill is only going to include policies that fall under those committees’ jurisdiction. Instructing the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees is consistent with a bill just focused on immigration.
The instructions also indicate that Republicans do not plan to offset this new immigration spending with new revenue measures or corresponding spending cuts. But that could still change…
So, what’s next?
Senate Republicans could reportedly start voting on this resolution as early as today (Tuesday, April 21). The House could then vote next week — depending on how long things take in the Senate. Part of approving the budget resolution in the Senate is a vote-a-rama, wherein senators from both parties can force a marathon of votes.
While Democrats may look to put the GOP on the record on tough issues, Republicans who oppose this bill’s immigration-only approach might seek to broaden its scope. Other Republicans who oppose more spending without corresponding cuts could similarly try to amend the resolution. Remember: President Trump wants this bill on his desk by June 1.
On top of that, House Republicans refuse to open the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until the bill is done. Broadening this package’s scope could mean jeopardizing that timeline and keeping DHS shuttered even longer.
The big takeaway.
This budget resolution tells us that Republicans will spend the next month-plus focused on sending billions more in taxpayer dollars to Border Patrol and ICE—an agency that half of America wants to abolish and most Americans think is making the country less safe.
They’re doing this while Americans are naming health care costs and access as their number one concern. They’re also doing this less than a year after greenlighting an extra $170 billion for immigration enforcement, paid for by cuts to health care and food assistance, and just months after the country watched immigration agents kill Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
This budget resolution could also have long-term implications for how Congress passes government funding laws.
Take Action
Funding ICE and Border Patrol for three years would mean that, for three years, those agencies can rest assured that even if they ignore Congress’ attempts to conduct oversight or question their conduct, they’ll stay funded.
Right now, that means setting up rogue agencies with a history of violent conduct. In the long-term, this new precedent could mean a whole host of rogue agencies that won’t answer to the people’s representatives in Congress.
This is a big deal. So, here are just a few things you can do:
Call Your Members of Congress: Demand that your two Senators and House rep oppose any reconciliation bill that continues funding ICE & CBP without reforms and for an extended period of time, funds Trump’s illegal war with Iran, and makes further cuts to healthcare and other services that working families rely on. Use this resource from 5calls if you need help figuring out what to say.
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper: Use our tool kit for guidance. If your letter isn’t published, post it on social media and share with your personal network.
We also have more dates scheduled for these workshops in May and June. You can find those here.
And you can learn more about our Write to Win program here.
Amplify: Repost and share this out right here on Substack and any other social media platforms you may be on. You should also send this post directly to three or more friends and encourage them to take action with you!