Late last week, the House and Senate Budget Committees both voted along party lines to advance budget resolutions that direct congressional committees to develop legislation related to a slew of priorities. Both resolutions, if passed by the full House and Senate, will initiate a process known as budget reconciliation, which allows Congress to pass legislation with a simple majority rather than having to meet the typical 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
The Senate Budget Committee moved first last week, advancing a resolution that requires the development of legislation to fund border security, increase defense spending, and sell leases for fossil fuel production. It also directs a number of Senate committees—including Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Finance—to produce and pass legislation to cut spending within their jurisdictions. The budget resolution does not include direction to the Senate Finance Committee to develop legislation extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Senate has continued to state its preference for addressing the expiring tax cuts through a separate, second reconciliation package.
One day after the Senate Budget Committee marked up its budget resolution, the House Budget Committee passed its own resolution, directing the Ways & Means Committee to develop tax legislation costing $4.5 trillion over ten years. It also directs a variety of committees to produce legislation cutting a total of $2 trillion over the same period. It remains to be seen whether one house of Congress will defer to the other in the early days of this process, or whether both houses will proceed in parallel with the goal of negotiating their differences further down the line. Both the House and the Senate are expected to vote on their respective resolutions before the end of the month.
WateReuse has been working since early last year to secure a federal investment tax credit (ITC) to help scale up the use of recycled water by manufacturers, data centers, and other industrial entities. We continue to push for the ITC to be included in the upcoming reconciliation package. If your organization is interested in helping with this effort, please reach out to Greg Fogel, WateReuse Policy Director, at gfogel@watereuse.org. | 
