WYOMING – The United States Senate yesterday approved the FY2018 Budget Resolution the crafters hope will provide Congress with the tools it needs to enact tax reform to grow America’s economy and strengthen families and small businesses.
Senate Budget Committee chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said the Senate’s Budget Resolution is focused on restrained spending and growing America’s economy through tax policies that put more money in the hands of hardworking Americans. The House of Representatives approved its version of the budget earlier this month and is expected to work with the Senate to come to an agreement on a joint concurrent budget resolution.
“This budget resolution is the first step to pro-growth tax reform, as it will provide the fiscal headroom needed for the tax-writing committees in the Senate and the House to produce tax reform legislation,” Enzi said. “Hardworking families deserve a system that works for everyone in order to provide higher wages and more jobs. Pro-growth tax reform can help U.S. businesses and their workers compete in the global marketplace, spur investment and job growth here at home, and free Americans to make their own decisions about how to spend their hard-earned money. Hardworking Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government. And a big part of that is making the tax code work for all American families and small businesses.”
According to the Senate Budget Committee, the FY2018 Budget Resolution:
- PROVIDES a path to balance by restraining federal spending, reducing tax burdens, and boosting economic growth.
- REDUCES spending by $5.1 trillion.
- PROVIDES reconciliation instructions to spur economic growth:
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- Finance Committee—$1.5 trillion for comprehensive tax reform
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- Energy and Natural Resources—$1 billion in deficit reduction
- PROVIDES an on-budget surplus of $197 billion in 2027 as a result of fiscal constraint and economic growth.
- PROVIDES maximum level of regular defense funding allowed under the law—preventing sequestration cuts. The resolution includes a mechanism to adjust these levels if an agreement on revised funding levels is reached.
- REDUCES nondefense discretionary spending by $632 billion, consistent with previously agreed upon limits in the last conferenced budget resolution.
- HONORS Social Security’s off-budget status.
