SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Here in Washington, senators were up all night for what is known as a vote-a-rama. It is part of the budget process as Republican lawmakers try to implement President Trump's legislative agenda. Here with the latest is NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt. Hey, Barbara.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hello.
DETROW: So what was actually in this budget resolution?
SPRUNT: Well, it includes $175 billion in funding to secure the Southern border and 150 billion in increased military spending. Now, this is a big part of President Trump's agenda. What it does not include, which is sort of the source of a lot of drama on Capitol Hill between the Senate and the House, is extending the tax cuts from the first Trump administration.
DETROW: Which is really interesting because they are high on Trump's wish list, getting extension of those tax cuts. So why aren't they in the Senate version?
SPRUNT: Yeah, that's right. Well, the House and the Senate have very different ideas about how best to go about implementing Trump's agenda. The House wants to do one big bill that incorporates the border resources, changes to energy policy and extending the tax cuts all at once. Now, they have their reasons for that. House Speaker Mike Johnson has a fractious conference. And the thinking is it's hard enough to get everyone on board, particularly with a very narrow majority, once, let alone twice.
DETROW: Right.
SPRUNT: But the Senate wants to move quickly. They want to get resources to the border now, they say. So they want to do one bill on the border and military spending and energy policy and then do a second bill later on this year to address those tax cuts, which actually do expire at the end of the year.
DETROW: OK. So Senate - they want two bills. House - they want one bill. Where does President Trump stand?
SPRUNT: It's an excellent question. Trump earlier this week said he prefers the House approach. But then yesterday, he thanked the Senate for their efforts right as they were about to start this marathon vote-a-rama on their version of the budget resolution. So I think the thinking there is that if the House can't deliver, then this Senate budget resolution can act as sort of a backup.
DETROW: The House was out this week. Its members are returning next week. So what do they do next?
SPRUNT: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has said that he plans to bring up the House version of the budget resolution to the floor next week. Whether it can pass quickly is another matter altogether. In order to appease members who are concerned about the national debt, House GOP leaders did have to make some earlier adjustments to their resolution that would direct up to $2 trillion in spending cuts. Trump has said that he doesn't want to touch Medicaid as part of that. But analysts say that reaching the levels to offset those cuts without touching Medicaid or Medicare or Social Security is nearly impossible.
It's worth noting that on the Senate side of things, last night, you did see two Republicans vote alongside Democrats on an amendment that would have blocked tax cuts for the wealthy if any Medicaid funding were to be cut. So there's going to be a lot of conversation around Medicaid next week. And as a reminder, both chambers ultimately have to be on the same page to get this legislation across the finish line.
DETROW: That is NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thanks so much.
SPRUNT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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