Senate Republicans continue to work through a bevy of political, policy and procedural hurdles to enact their version of the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation legislation ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline.
The House passed its measure last month by one vote. Since then, Senate committees have released legislative text for provisions in their jurisdiction, in some cases carrying over provisions from the House-passed bill, and in other cases putting forth completely new proposals.
As of this writing, a precise timetable for compiling the committees’ bills and bringing the combined “One Big Beautiful Bill” before the full Senate has not been determined. Major decisions have yet to be made concerning tax policy (particularly the state and local tax deduction or “SALT”), as well as cuts to Medicaid and the related subsidies in the Affordable Care Act.
While there is a significant budgetary and policy gulf between House and Senate proposals at this time, Republican leadership is under enormous pressure to pass a final bill that delivers on many of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises.
Making this gulf even more pronounced is Senate procedure around budget reconciliation legislation. To be eligible to advance under budget reconciliation in the Senate – and therefore requiring only a simple majority rather than a 60-vote threshold – all provisions must pass the “Byrd Rule.” This rule requires that provisions are designed principally to save (or spend) money, rather than making policy.
Currently, the Senate legislation is being put through a “Byrd Bath” – wherein the non-partisan Senate parliamentarian determines if a provision passes the Byrd Rule. If a provision fails, it will either need to be reworked or removed in order to maintain the simple majority requirement. Several pieces of the Senate package have already been struck by the Senate parliamentarian, but none so far of the education-related provisions.
HELP Committee bill
As reported earlier, the legislation released by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), chair of the Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee, includes several priorities advanced by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), particularly in response to the House legislation. AACC has commented on these provisions in a letter to the committee and continues to work with committee members to ensure that it stands behind its positions.
The most notable difference between the House and Senate bills is the latter’s rejection of the House’s cuts to Pell Grant eligibility based on enrollment intensity. The Senate also maintains the subsidized loan program, whereas the House proposed its elimination. Both bills authorize the Workforce Pell Grant along identical lines, and so the outlines of that potential program have become clearer.
Both the Senate and House bills would make significant changes to student loan policy, though these changes are not as acute for community college borrowers. (It is important to remember that budget reconciliation legislation is discrete from the FY 2026 budget and appropriation process, a topic of great concern to community colleges because the president has proposed a series of program cuts and eliminations.)
What’s next
Once the Byrd Bath is done, the Senate is poised to have a contentious floor debate and vote whenever its reconciliation bill heads to the floor. While debate is limited by Senate rules (so no filibustering), Senate procedure allows unlimited amendments on budget reconciliation, which are then voted on in quick succession in an hours-long affair known as Vote-a-Rama.
While Vote-a-Rama is largely a messaging opportunity for the opposition party, a few substantive changes may be made through this process. If and when it clears the Senate, the onus will be on the House to pass or modify it. As noted above, House Republicans will surely want to change the bill to further reduce spending or to pacify members of their caucus; the question is whether it is necessary to undertake the political complications of doing so.
All this action is expected to bleed well into the scheduled July 4th recess, which was planned to start at the end of this week. Whether action on this landmark bill will scuttle the recess is unclear, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has indicated that this may occur, in an effort to get the legislation to Trump’s desk by the 4th. It is also quite possible that the whole process won’t conclude until sometime later next month.
