Latest news with #CongressionalReviewAct
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate tussles over filibuster, tax cuts in Trump's legislative agenda
June 2 (UPI) -- Senate Republicans seek to make President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent while Democrats push for a ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian as the chamber weigh's Trump's legislative agenda bill. The Senate returned Monday to Capitol Hill after its Memorial Day recess with the sweeping agenda bill as its top priority. As it mulls changes to the bill, Republicans hope to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act without an end date while not counting its financial impact toward the national debt. To stop the Republican plan from coming to fruition, Democrats want the Parliamentarian of the United States, a nonpartisan body that interprets the rules of the Senate's process, to weigh in. Democrats argued that extending the 2017 tax cuts permanently would violate the Senate's Byrd Rule, a rule that limits what can be considered in a budget reconciliation bill. This is significant because a budget reconciliation bill can be passed with a simple majority, or 51 votes, rather than the 60-vote threshold which is subject to filibuster rules. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. The Byrd Rule prohibits any provisions deemed extraneous from being included in a budget reconciliation bill. Among the characteristics that meet the criteria of an "extraneous" provision is a provision that increases the federal deficit beyond the budget window, which is typically 10 years. Democrats say a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts would do just that. Democrats also say going around the Parliamentarian would undermine the Senate's filibuster rules, alleging that Republicans already did this when they voted to overturn California's electric vehicle mandate in May. Senate Republicans invoked the Congressional Review Act to overturn the electric vehicle mandate without going through the Parliamentarian. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called on a series of votes to clarify whether the mandate was a rule that was being violated and thus able to be overturned under the Congressional Review Act. Senate Republicans have set a goal to pass the legislative agenda bill by July 4. The 1,116-page bill passed the House before the break and needs Senate approval to advance to the president's desk. Some Republicans also have expressed their support for making changes to Trump's legislative agenda bill. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has shared concerns about how it will add to the national debt if it is passed as is. "If I vote for the $5 trillion debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt?" Paul said in an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday. "The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." Paul opposes a provision in the bill that would raise the debt ceiling. Changes to Medicaid are also a source of concern for some Republican Senators. "I've said that if there are deep cuts in Medicaid that would endanger healthcare for low-income families, for disabled children, for other vulnerable populations, and for our rural hospitals, I'm simply not going to support that," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week when meeting with constituents in Clinton, Maine, according to Maine Public Radio.
UPI
a day ago
- Business
- UPI
Senate tussles over filibuster, tax cuts in Trump's legislative agenda
1 of 2 | Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 6. Paul opposes a provision in President Donald Trump's legislative agenda bill that would raise the debt ceiling and has expressed concerns over the bills impact on the national debt. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo June 2 (UPI) -- Senate Republicans seek to make President Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent while Democrats push for a ruling from the Senate Parliamentarian as the chamber weigh's Trump's legislative agenda bill. The Senate returned Monday to Capitol Hill after its Memorial Day recess with the sweeping agenda bill as its top priority. As it mulls changes to the bill, Republicans hope to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act without an end date while not counting its financial impact toward the national debt. To stop the Republican plan from coming to fruition, Democrats want the Parliamentarian of the United States, a nonpartisan body that interprets the rules of the Senate's process, to weigh in. Democrats argued that extending the 2017 tax cuts permanently would violate the Senate's Byrd Rule, a rule that limits what can be considered in a budget reconciliation bill. This is significant because a budget reconciliation bill can be passed with a simple majority, or 51 votes, rather than the 60-vote threshold which is subject to filibuster rules. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. The Byrd Rule prohibits any provisions deemed extraneous from being included in a budget reconciliation bill. Among the characteristics that meet the criteria of an "extraneous" provision is a provision that increases the federal deficit beyond the budget window, which is typically 10 years. Democrats say a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts would do just that. Democrats also say going around the Parliamentarian would undermine the Senate's filibuster rules, alleging that Republicans already did this when they voted to overturn California's electric vehicle mandate in May. Senate Republicans invoked the Congressional Review Act to overturn the electric vehicle mandate without going through the Parliamentarian. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called on a series of votes to clarify whether the mandate was a rule that was being violated and thus able to be overturned under the Congressional Review Act. Senate Republicans have set a goal to pass the legislative agenda bill by July 4. The 1,116-page bill passed the House before the break and needs Senate approval to advance to the president's desk. Some Republicans also have expressed their support for making changes to Trump's legislative agenda bill. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has shared concerns about how it will add to the national debt if it is passed as is. "If I vote for the $5 trillion debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt?" Paul said in an interview on CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday. "The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." Paul opposes a provision in the bill that would raise the debt ceiling. Changes to Medicaid are also a source of concern for some Republican Senators. "I've said that if there are deep cuts in Medicaid that would endanger healthcare for low-income families, for disabled children, for other vulnerable populations, and for our rural hospitals, I'm simply not going to support that," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week when meeting with constituents in Clinton, Maine, according to Maine Public Radio.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill' heads for showdown with Senate parliamentarian
House-passed legislation to enact President Trump's agenda is headed for a showdown with the Senate parliamentarian as Democrats plan to challenge key elements of it, including a proposal to make Trump's expiring 2017 tax cuts permanent. Senate Democrats are warning ahead of the fight that if Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) makes an end run around the parliamentarian to make Trump's tax cuts permanent, it would seriously undermine the filibuster and open the door to Democrats rewriting Senate rules in the future. Senate Republicans argue that it's up to Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to set the budgetary baseline for the bill. They say it's not up to the parliamentarian to determine whether extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts should be scored as adding to the deficit. If Graham determines that extending Trump's tax cuts should be judged as an extension of current policy and therefore is budget neutral, it would allow Republicans to make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, which is a top priority of Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). Democrats expect Senate Republicans to do just that, most likely by putting the question to a vote in the Senate, which Republicans control with 53 seats. That's what Thune did before the Memorial Day recess to set a new Senate precedent to allow Republicans to repeal California's electric vehicle (EV) mandate under the Congressional Review Act. Democrats will attempt to force the parliamentarian to rule that making the Trump tax cuts permanent would add to federal deficits beyond 2034 — beyond the 10-year budget window — and therefore violate the Senate's Byrd Rule. Such a ruling, if upheld on the Senate floor, would blow up Thune and Crapo's plan to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent. They would have to add language to sunset those tax cuts to allow the bill to pass the Senate with a simple-majority vote. Democrats are warning that another effort to circumvent the parliamentarian would open the door to a rewriting of the filibuster rule when their party recaptures control of Washington. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee who will co-lead the effort to challenge provisions in the Republican bill, said that filibuster reform is needed to stop circumventions of the parliamentarian. 'Part of my argument was if we don't go to something like the talking filibuster where it's public and takes effort [to block legislation], then there are going to be end runs around the filibuster and this is exactly, exactly what happened,' Merkley said after Senate Republicans ignored the parliamentarian and established a new precedent with a partisan vote to allow California's EV mandate to be overturned under the Congressional Review Act. Merkley has long advocated for requiring senators to actively hold the floor to block a bill. Under current Senate rules, lawmakers typically filibuster a bill simply by raising an objection. They don't need to occupy the floor to stop legislation. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has called for eliminating the Senate filibuster for legislation, said Senate Republicans blew a hole in the filibuster rule when they circumvented the parliamentarian by voting to set a new precedent to expand the Congressional Review Act. 'It's clear that the Republicans can no longer say that they're opposed to getting rid of the filibuster because they just got rid of the filibuster when it suited them,' she said. 'We need a set of rules that apply across the board, and that's true whether you have Democrats in the majority or Republicans in the majority. 'Yes, it is time for filibuster reform,' she said. Democratic aides say they suspect Thune's decision before the Memorial Day recess to put a major procedural question up for a Senate vote was a dress rehearsal for Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' Democrats say they plan to challenge the GOP plan to score the extension of Trump's expiring tax cuts as a matter of current policy during meetings with the Senate parliamentarian. Any item that fails to pass muster under the so-called Byrd Bath would be subject to a point-of-order objection on the floor, which could hold up the whole bill. A senior Senate Democratic aide said Merkley's staff argued to the parliamentarian in April that scoring the extension of Trump's tax cuts as a matter of current policy instead of current law would violate Senate precedent, as well as the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The Democrats came away from those presentations hopeful that the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, would rule in their favor that Republicans could not score the extension of the 2017 tax cuts as budget-neutral. 'They felt that they were well received and had strong arguments in particular because there's a section in Gramm-Rudman-Hollings that defines baseline, and there are reasons for consistency with the Byrd Rule,' the Democratic aide said. Republicans were scheduled to argue their side of the case but then canceled the meeting, indefinitely postponing a ruling from the parliamentarian. 'The Republicans were scheduled to argue but then withdrew from that at the last minute, having convinced themselves that they had the authority' to set a current-policy baseline 'by empowering the chair of the Budget Committee,' the aide said. Democrats say that decision to postpone a verdict from the parliamentarian in April sets up a procedural showdown this summer that could wipe out the Republican plan to make Trump's tax cuts permanent. Under current law, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is due to expire at the end of 2025. Therefore, using a current-law baseline would score an extension of those expiring tax cuts as adding significantly to federal deficits beyond 2035. That would require Senate Republicans to come up with trillions of dollars in new spending cuts to offset the cost of making the tax cuts permanent. Thune could opt to again circumvent the parliamentarian by having the Senate vote on whether the Republican Budget chair gets to set the baseline. But Democrats warn that would strike another blow against the Senate filibuster and hasten its future abolition. 'We have to let the dust settle and see who still recognizes the importance of the filibuster. There are a bunch of Democrats who would probably vote to get rid of the filibuster,' said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). Asked if Democrats would eliminate the filibuster once they regain power, the Colorado senator predicted: 'That temptation will be there.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hill
Trump's ‘big, beautiful bill' heads for showdown with Senate parliamentarian
House-passed legislation to enact President Trump's agenda is headed for a showdown with the Senate parliamentarian as Democrats plan to challenge key elements of it, including a proposal to make Trump's expiring 2017 tax cuts permanent. Senate Democrats are warning ahead of the fight that if Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) makes an end run around the parliamentarian to make Trump's tax cuts permanent, it would seriously undermine the filibuster and open the door to Democrats rewriting Senate rules in the future. Senate Republicans argue that it's up to Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to set the budgetary baseline for the bill. They say it's not up to the parliamentarian to determine whether extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts should be scored as adding to the deficit. If Graham determines that extending Trump's tax cuts should be judged as an extension of current policy and therefore is budget neutral, it would allow Republicans to make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, which is a top priority of Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). Democrats expect Senate Republicans to do just that, most likely by putting the question to a vote in the Senate, which Republicans control with 53 seats. That's what Thune did before the Memorial Day recess to set a new Senate precedent to allow Republicans to repeal California's electric vehicle (EV) mandate under the Congressional Review Act. Democrats will attempt to force the parliamentarian to rule that making the Trump tax cuts permanent would add to federal deficits beyond 2034 — beyond the 10-year budget window — and therefore violate the Senate's Byrd Rule. Such a ruling, if upheld on the Senate floor, would blow up Thune and Crapo's plan to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent. They would have to add language to sunset those tax cuts to allow the bill to pass the Senate with a simple-majority vote. Democrats are warning that another effort to circumvent the parliamentarian would open the door to a rewriting of the filibuster rule when their party recaptures control of Washington. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee who will co-lead the effort to challenge provisions in the Republican bill, said that filibuster reform is needed to stop circumventions of the parliamentarian. 'Part of my argument was if we don't go to something like the talking filibuster where it's public and takes effort [to block legislation], then there are going to be end runs around the filibuster and this is exactly, exactly what happened,' Merkley said after Senate Republicans ignored the parliamentarian and established a new precedent with a partisan vote to allow California's EV mandate to be overturned under the Congressional Review Act. Merkley has long advocated for requiring senators to actively hold the floor to block a bill. Under current Senate rules, lawmakers typically filibuster a bill simply by raising an objection. They don't need to occupy the floor to stop legislation. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has called for eliminating the Senate filibuster for legislation, said Senate Republicans blew a hole in the filibuster rule when they circumvented the parliamentarian by voting to set a new precedent to expand the Congressional Review Act. 'It's clear that the Republicans can no longer say that they're opposed to getting rid of the filibuster because they just got rid of the filibuster when it suited them,' she said. 'We need a set of rules that apply across the board, and that's true whether you have Democrats in the majority or Republicans in the majority. 'Yes, it is time for filibuster reform,' she said. Democratic aides say they suspect Thune's decision before the Memorial Day recess to put a major procedural question up for a Senate vote was a dress rehearsal for Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' Democrats say they plan to challenge the GOP plan to score the extension of Trump's expiring tax cuts as a matter of current policy during meetings with the Senate parliamentarian. Any item that fails to pass muster under the so-called Byrd Bath would be subject to a point-of-order objection on the floor, which could hold up the whole bill. A senior Senate Democratic aide said Merkley's staff argued to the parliamentarian in April that scoring the extension of Trump's tax cuts as a matter of current policy instead of current law would violate Senate precedent, as well as the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. The Democrats came away from those presentations hopeful that the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, would rule in their favor that Republicans could not score the extension of the 2017 tax cuts as budget-neutral. 'They felt that they were well received and had strong arguments in particular because there's a section in Gramm-Rudman-Hollings that defines baseline, and there are reasons for consistency with the Byrd Rule,' the Democratic aide said. Republicans were scheduled to argue their side of the case but then canceled the meeting, indefinitely postponing a ruling from the parliamentarian. 'The Republicans were scheduled to argue but then withdrew from that at the last minute, having convinced themselves that they had the authority' to set a current-policy baseline 'by empowering the chair of the Budget Committee,' the aide said. Democrats say that decision to postpone a verdict from the parliamentarian in April sets up a procedural showdown this summer that could wipe out the Republican plan to make Trump's tax cuts permanent. Under current law, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is due to expire at the end of 2025. Therefore, using a current-law baseline would score an extension of those expiring tax cuts as adding significantly to federal deficits beyond 2035. That would require Senate Republicans to come up with trillions of dollars in new spending cuts to offset the cost of making the tax cuts permanent. Thune could opt to again circumvent the parliamentarian by having the Senate vote on whether the Republican Budget chair gets to set the baseline. But Democrats warn that would strike another blow against the Senate filibuster and hasten its future abolition. 'We have to let the dust settle and see who still recognizes the importance of the filibuster. There are a bunch of Democrats who would probably vote to get rid of the filibuster,' said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). Asked if Democrats would eliminate the filibuster once they regain power, the Colorado senator predicted: 'That temptation will be there.'
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
California's Ban on Gas-Powered Cars is Dead
Senate Republicans last Thursday voted to repeal California's rule banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. The 51-44 vote, pushed through using the Congressional Review Act, nullifies a waiver granted under the Clean Air Act - something Congress has never done in the law's 50-year history. California's rule was part of an aggressive plan to shift the auto market toward electric vehicles, and 11 other states had intended to adopt it. Together, those states represent about 40% of U.S. auto sales. The decision marks a major victory for the oil and gas industry and a setback for climate advocates hoping to use state-level policy to push the national market toward cleaner technologies. Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state would sue the Trump administration over what they called an "unlawful" congressional action. "This is about our economy, it's about our health, it's about our global competitiveness," Newsom said. "It is, Donald Trump, about our national security, and it's about our ability to continue to innovate and outpace competition all across the globe." Legal experts argue that the Congressional Review Act should not apply to California's waivers, which only affect one state. But Republicans said California's standards essentially dictated national policy, given how many automakers follow them. The Senate also voted to block California rules requiring half of new trucks sold by 2035 to be electric and limiting emissions of nitrogen oxide, a key contributor to smog. All three measures passed the House earlier this year and are expected to be signed into law by President Trump. In response, Senator Alex Padilla of California placed a hold on several EPA nominees and warned of future retaliation. "All bets will be off" next time Democrats hold a majority, he said. While some automakers, like Ford and Honda, had agreed to California's emission standards, the industry as a whole pushed back against the 2035 mandate. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation said the targets were "never achievable," citing infrastructure gaps and market readiness. Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan was the lone Democrat to vote with Republicans, pointing to concerns from automakers in her state. The ruling leaves California scrambling to revise its climate strategy. Officials may look to cut emissions from factories and refineries or increase incentives for EV purchases. They may also consider penalties for gas car usage, such as higher registration fees. But a clause in the Congressional Review Act prevents California from adopting any rule "substantially the same" as the one just repealed - a potential legal roadblock that could tie the state's hands for years. "We're going to have to think pretty innovatively," said Dean Florez of the California Air Resources Board. "But there will still be a massive hole." Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
