On April 2nd, the Republican Party, which holds the majority in the U.S. Congress, released a new budget plan in the Senate. The plan includes large-scale tax cuts, a proposal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, and efforts to reduce government spending. According to Bloomberg and Reuters, the budget resolution, which was released by the Republican-led Senate Budget Committee on the same day, includes a provision to increase the U.S. debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion (about 7,339 trillion won). This increase is $1 trillion more than the $4 trillion debt ceiling increase passed in the House budget bill. Senate Republicans explained that the higher debt ceiling was set in this manner to avoid the need for another vote before the 2026 midterm elections.
In addition to the debt ceiling increase, the Senate budget bill extends the $4 trillion tax cuts implemented during President Donald Trump’s first term in 2017. It also includes provisions for an additional $1.5 trillion in tax cuts. The total tax cuts previously agreed upon in the House budget resolution amounted to $4.5 trillion over 10 years. The House resolution also called for a $2 trillion reduction in government spending over the same period to fund these tax cuts. However, the Senate budget bill provides more flexibility on this matter, according to Bloomberg.
Furthermore, the Senate budget plan includes a 10-year increase in military spending of up to $150 billion, along with an additional $175 billion allocated for border and immigration enforcement. The Senate is scheduled to vote on this budget resolution later this week. U.S. media reports indicate that in recent years, Congress has bypassed the adoption of such a resolution, instead moving directly to process the appropriations bill after reaching a budget agreement between the ruling and opposition leaders. However, the Republican Party is pushing for the adoption of a budget resolution in both the Senate and the House to utilize the budget reconciliation process, which could expedite the bill. Senate Republican Leader John Thune stated, “It is time for the Senate to move forward with this budget resolution to further advance the shared Republican agenda in Congress.”