Policy and Legal

The House late Tuesday approved a Republican budget blueprint for President Trump’s tax-cut and border-security agenda (Reuters, subscription).

• NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons called the move “a historic, pivotal step to[ward] advanc[ing] a comprehensive reconciliation package that will preserve” critical pro-manufacturing tax reforms and unleash “American energy dominance.”

What’s going on: “The measure is a preliminary step to extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts later this year,” Reuters reports. “Tuesday’s vote sent the budget resolution to the Senate, where Republicans are expected to take it up.”

• The plan—which calls for $4 trillion to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in spending reduction over 10 years—also includes measures to increase domestic energy development and production.

Why it’s so important: Congress must capitalize on the momentum of the budget resolution’s passage by preserving the crucial tax reform measures from President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Timmons continued—because “[e]very day we wait means jobs and opportunity lost.”

• “As part of the comprehensive, commonsense manufacturing strategy that America needs, protecting tax reform will strengthen our industry and our communities. It’s time to continue this momentum and act now to Make America Great for Manufacturing Again. When manufacturing wins, America wins.”

What’s next: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he anticipates passing the tax, energy, border-security and defense items via reconciliation by the first week of April.