The Senate early April 23 approved by a 50-48 vote the Republican-authored FY2026 budget resolution paving the way for a narrow budget reconciliation bill to provide multi-year funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies of the Department of Homeland Security. The vote-a-rama process of unlimited amendment votes preceded the final vote, after which the Senate adjourned until Monday, April 27.

The budget resolution could be considered by the House next week, though there are differing opinions among Republicans about the reconciliation bill to follow. Republican leaders in both chambers want to keep the package narrow and focused on ICE and CBP, and President Trump has called for completion of a reconciliation bill by June 1. A follow-on third bill is being eyed by Republican leaders, to possibly include provisions related to the SAVE America Act voter ID bill and other GOP priorities. But another bill is not a certainty, meaning members may want their priorities addressed in the near-term bill. Some, including House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), have said ICE and CBP funding may not be popular enough to sustain a reconciliation bill on their own without addressing affordability issues.

An April 22 Politico story, "Arrington says House GOP's appetite for Senate reconciliation path no sure bet," cited House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) as saying, "The question will be for our conference … [do] they believe that we can do another reconciliation for fraud and defense and maybe some affordability issues? … If they believe we can do a third one, then people will support this quick and skinny reconciliation." Semafor April 23 reported Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) as saying of the near-term bill, "I think it needs to be broader." Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), said "I'm not going to support a skinny budget."

Democrats focused their vote-a-rama amendments on affordability issues. Following are Senate amendment votes during consideration of the FY2026 Budget Resolution, some of which required 60 votes:

• Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) #4799, motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment related to reconciliation legislation that "does not lower out-of-pocket health care costs while Americans struggle to make ends meet," not agreed to 48-50
• Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) #4798, motion to waive the Budget Act on the amendment to establish a fund relating to grocery costs, not agreed to 47-50
• Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) #4897, motion to waive the Budget Act on the amendment related to reconciliation legislation that fails to address "the practice of insurance companies stepping between patients and their doctors to delay or deny access to care," not agreed to 49-49
• Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) #5281, addressing immigration issues, adopted 98-0
• Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) #4884, motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment related to school meal programs, not agreed to 48-50
• Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) #4956, motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment related to consumer protections from tariff price increases, not agreed to 47-51
• Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) #5294, motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment regarding childcare, not agreed to 47-51
• Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) #5414, motion to waive the Budget Act on the amendment to instruct the Rules Committee regarding voter ID provisions, not agreed to 48-50
• Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) #5001, motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment regarding home electricity costs, not agreed to 48-50
• Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) #4794, motion to waive the Budget Act on the amendment regarding an extension of the prohibition on certain Medicaid payments, not agreed to, 50-48
• Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) #5378, to offset the cost of the new spending with cuts to foreign aid, the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, not agreed to 24-74
• Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) #5235, motion to waive the Budget Act on the amendment relating to the impact of hedge fund ownership of single-family homes and rent prices, not agreed to 46-52
• Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment to reduce prescription drug prices through Most Favored Nation drug pricing, not agreed to 49-49
• Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) #4855, motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment related to Federal agencies with unobligated funds from past reconciliation bills, not agreed to 46-52
• Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), motion to waive the budget point of order on the amendment requiring a study of economic consequences of private or confidential drug pricing agreements with pharmaceutical manufacturers, not agreed to 48-50
• Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) #5333, motion to waive the budget point of order for the amendment requiring the obligation of amounts appropriated to FEMA to carry out public assistance and hazard mitigation programs, not agreed to 49-49

Bessent hearing — The April 22 Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing, "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury," with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a similar dynamic to last week's Senate Finance Committee hearing with IRS CEO Frank Bisignano: Republicans celebrated tax cuts under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), while Democrats expressed concern about IRS workforce reductions.

Chairman Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said recent IRS data shows that tax refunds this year are "substantially higher than years prior, putting more money back into the pockets of hardworking Americans." Sec. Bessent testified that "over 60 million returns claimed at least one of President Trump's signature new tax cuts this filing season."

Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) lamented that the Treasury budget request calls for additional cuts in funding for the inspector general, grants for community development, and enforcement. "The IRS has pushed out more than 28,000 employees since the start of the Trump administration, and this proposal would shrink the workforce by another 4,000. This is simply irresponsible," he said. "You come from the business world, and no successful company would underinvest in its revenue collection mechanism."

In response to questioning from Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about reductions in the IRS workforce, Sec. Bessent said, "the Democrats said that the filing system is going to be a disaster — It's been a home run." Senator Jon Husted (R-OH) asked about the mechanics of the OBBBA's scholarship-granting organizations provision, which Bessent said he would need to follow up on. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) spoke about the need for cryptocurrency legislation.

Trade — The April 22 House Ways and Means Committee hearing, "The Trump Administration's 2026 Trade Policy Agenda," with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer included discussion of digital services taxes (DSTs). Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) said that as Canada, EU, and France continue to impose DSTs and other digital measures, Congress will not tolerate the use of such taxes to target US companies and may enact legislation in response if necessary. He asked when potential Section 301 investigations related to digital issues may occur and whether they will focus on particular economies and cover country-specific measures like DSTs. Greer said that while the government has Section 301 actions readied in draft, USTR wants to see outcomes rather than simply imposing tariffs for the sake of doing so. He said he would discuss the issue of DSTs with the European Union trade commissioner on Friday. "We do have these tools in our toolkit," he said of the investigations.

Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) lauded USTR's work to achieve agreements to prevent DSTs and said he expects the Administration will be active as more countries pursue these taxes and related approaches like Canada's Online Streaming Act. Greer said he recently spoke with the Trade Minister of Poland about a proposed DST, and the increased tariffs on France were a cautionary tale. "With Canada, they implemented it, and immediately we worked with them to get it down and they just repealed that a few weeks ago," he said. "So, we are seeing progress on this front. We're working with our European partners right now on this."

A WCEY Alert has details.

The Senate Finance Committee hearing on the trade policy agenda with Ambassador Greer scheduled for April 23 was postponed after the Senate adjourned for the week following the budget vote-a-rama.

Healthcare — During the April 22 Senate Finance Committee hearing on "The President's Fiscal Year 2027 Department of Health and Human Services Budget," Committee members asked HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questions on a range of topics, with Republicans speaking favorably of investments in rural health and efforts to address waste, fraud, and abuse, and Democrats raising concerns about the lack of transparency in the Administration's Most Favored Nation's (MFN) deals and the Secretary's vaccine messaging and the impact on public health. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle also raised questions on the impacts of proposed cuts to public health agencies.

Later the same day, Sec. Kennedy appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Members asked questions on a range of topics, with bipartisan support for the Administration's nutrition policies and bipartisan concern about rising prescription drug prices and reductions to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other public health agencies. Democrats and a few Republicans raised concerns with the Secretary's comments and policies related to vaccines, with Democrats also raising concerns about environmental health, including the executive order related to glyphosate. The Secretary defended his record on vaccines and spoke about the Administration's efforts to reduce chronic diseases.

Tax — In an April 22 letter to Sec. Bessent and Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Kenneth Kies, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) took issue with Treasury's March 5 announcement, "Removal of Final Regulations Identifying Certain Partnership Related-Party Basis Adjustment Transactions as Transactions of Interest." They said that while IRS rules allow (and in certain cases require) partners or partnerships to adjust the tax basis of property resulting from certain partnership transactions, complex partnership structures can apply basis shifting rules to avoid tax without real costs or changes in economic position. "Removing this reporting requirement will enable tax dodging by some of the wealthiest Americans, further tilting our tax code in favor of the rich and powerful," they said.

Treasury announced April 23 that IRS plans to revise the Form 990 to "improve transparency, strengthen tax administration, and provide clearer reporting on certain activities" of section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, "including government contracts, government grants, and fiscal sponsorship arrangements."