Lawmakers have begun the process of advancing major elements of the Trump Administration agenda using the budget reconciliation process, with several House committees holding markup hearings last week. This includes the Education and the Workforce, Oversight, Financial Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure committee, which advanced each of their portions of the reconciliation package largely along party-line votes.
Lawmakers must still hold markup hearings in the Energy and Commerce Committee, which is responsible for identifying $880 billion in spending reductions that may include Medicaid and other entitlement programs. Republican leaders face internal divisions, as conservatives push for deeper cuts and moderates caution against reducing benefits. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) maintains, “We’re not gutting Medicaid. We’re going to reduce fraud, waste and abuse.” Argentum is closely monitoring negotiations related to Medicaid to advocate against cuts that would harm access to care, particularly those served by Medicaid assisted living waiver programs.
The Ways and Means Committee must also hold a markup hearing on the tax portion of the package, which may include opportunities to advance long-term care tax credits, such as the Credit for Caring Act (H.R. 2036 and S. 925), to establish a tax credit of up to $5,000 to help offset long-term care expenses for eligible family caregivers. Argentum supports this legislation to help make assisted living more affordable and the concept of a long-term care tax credit was identified by President Trump during the 2024 campaign. Separately, a major issue that lawmakers must still resolve related to the tax portion of the package is state and local tax deduction limits and other provisions, with roughly a dozen House Republicans pushing to strike the limits imposed by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
The administration has pushed the deadline for passing the package from Memorial Day to July 4, although House Republicans still aim to meet the earlier date to give the Senate time to act. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) described that timeline as “aspirational.” The budget reconciliation process allows Congress to advance legislation with budgetary impacts once per fiscal year with only a simple majority required in both chambers; therefore, Republicans could advance a partisan package without needing any Democratic votes for passage.