On January 11, the Senate approved, 51-48, S. Con. Res. 3, the FY2017 budget reconciliation package, which would set the budgetary levels through FY2026. The House approved S. Con. Res. 3 on January 13 by a vote of 227-198.
The resolution would cap federal spending at $1.07 trillion; this cap maintains the discretionary spending levels established by the Budget Control Act (P.L. 112-25). The measure would allocate $61.996 billion in FY2017 budget authority for International Affairs, which includes funding for global health, among other international programs. The resolution would provide $25.214 billion for Agriculture, including food nutrition programs, and $104.433 billion for Education, Training, Employment, and Social Services, which includes funding for programs at the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education.
In addition, the resolution also would allocate $515.181 billion for Income Security, which includes funding for several family support programs, $177.448 billion for Veterans Benefits and Services, and $64.519 billion for the Administration of Justice, which includes programs at the Department of Justice.
The budget resolution also serves as a vehicle for preliminary legislation to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), also known as the ACA or “Obamacare,” and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (P.L. 111-152). Specifically, the measure instructs the Senate Committees on Finance and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means to submit by January 27 recommendations for each committee to reduce the deficit by $1 billion between FY2017-2026. The recommendations would be packaged together by the Senate and House Budget Committees, respectively, for each chamber’s consideration.
