Senate Passes Bill, Now Back to the House

In summary

The Senate has passed its version of the tax and budget bill.
The Senate version includes some significant changes to the House version, leaving taxpayers waiting to see how quickly the bill will move to the president.

Earlier today, the Senate passed the giant tax and budget bill. While the framework generally resembles the version of the bill that the House passed on May 22, the Senate version removes or significantly alters key parts that held the fragile House compromise together, adds new provisions, and uses a novel approach to remove the cost of extending expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) provisions from the official 10-year price tag. The result is a Senate-passed bill that has parts, like the energy and international tax provisions, that are dramatically different from the bill first released by the House Ways and Means Committee in mid-May.

The bill now goes back to the House for consideration.

Crowe observation

Other tasks are on Congress’ agenda awaiting completion of work on the tax and budget bill, such as fiscal year 2026 appropriations, nominations, and the administration’s recission request.

Looking ahead

Many of the administration’s legislative priorities are bound up in the tax and budget bill. Key tax items include avoiding a tax hike for individuals if TCJA provisions are allowed to expire and providing popular tax cuts, like no tax on tips and overtime. Additionally, the bill includes an increase in the debt limit, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury has said will hit its ceiling later this summer. The House is scheduled to consider the bill next, which means it could be on a path to get to the president by July 4.