Mike Johnson, John Thune Give 'Positive' Update On Efforts To Pass Budget Reconciliation Bill

2 days ago

Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune hold a press briefing about efforts to pass a budget reconciliation bill.

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Transcript

00:01Hello, one, two, three.

00:08Good morning, everybody.

00:09We wanted to give you an update.

00:10It's a very positive one.

00:12As you know, you've been following this for the last many months.

00:15We've had a lot of very deliberative conversation

00:18and deliberation amongst members.

00:20Everyone's been involved in the House side and on the Senate side as well.

00:23We had some of those deliberations as recently as last night,

00:26and it's very productive.

00:27And I'm happy to tell you that this morning I believe we had the votes

00:31to finally adopt the budget resolution so we can move forward

00:35on President Trump's very important agenda for the American people.

00:39This process has required a lot of close consultation

00:43between the White House and the Senate.

00:45And all of that has been necessary because we want to make sure

00:48that we are delivering on our shared goals in the budget reconciliation process.

00:53Our big, beautiful bill has to reflect all of that.

00:56And so it is big, and it involves a lot of areas of policy,

01:01and so it requires a lot of close coordination.

01:03Our two chambers are directly aligned also on a very important principle,

01:07and that is the principle of fiscal responsibility.

01:10We are the party that delivers and ensures that.

01:13So we have a number of aims here.

01:15Our aim is to deliver on our promises in this big, beautiful bill

01:20regarding things like border security and restoring peace through strength

01:24and American energy dominance and regulatory reform to get the economy really humming again.

01:29And, of course, also tax relief, tax reductions.

01:32We have to make the tax cuts permanent, and that's all involved and enveloped in this big effort,

01:37and all the other promises and priorities we made.

01:39Now, it's important to note that at the same time we also need to achieve the maximum amount of savings for the American people,

01:47because that's what fiscal responsibility is.

01:49And we even want to start reducing the deficit.

01:52So with all that in mind, our first big, beautiful reconciliation package here involves a number of commitments,

02:00and one of those is that we are committed to finding at least $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people,

02:06while also preserving our essential programs.

02:10The Democrats are out right now trying to make hay out of the fact that we're going to gut Medicaid

02:14and all these other things.

02:15It's just simply not true.

02:16We're going to protect the essential programs for everybody who's eligible to receive those,

02:20and you'll see that reflected in the final bill.

02:23But I think it's very important for us to note that we'll be looking for $1.5 trillion in savings,

02:28and I can tell you that many of us are going to aim much higher and find those savings,

02:33because we believe they are there.

02:35We want to make government more efficient, effective, and leaner for the American people,

02:40and I think that will serve every American of every party, and we're happy to do that.

02:44This morning, we'll take the next big step in that process,

02:46and I just want to say I'm very happy to have our partners in the Senate working so closely with us as one team,

02:52one unified team, which is very important for us to deliver on all these objectives.

02:57And I can't tell you how much I thank Senate Majority Leader Thune for his principled, steady leadership

03:03and his resolve through this entire process, and I'm delighted to yield the podium to him next.

03:09Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning.

03:14A lot of work been going on here the last few days, but what I can tell you is that I think as you know last week

03:20that there were 51 Senate Republicans that passed a budget resolution that seeks to accomplish all the things that the Speaker outlined.

03:29We are all aligned on the need to make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, to restore American energy dominance,

03:39to grow our economy, and to make a generational investment in our border security,

03:45and also make sure that we are ready militarily to deal with any of the threats that the country faces around the world.

03:53And those are all things that are addressed in this budget resolution, which is why it's really important that we act.

03:57The budget resolution, as you know, is the first step.

04:00It unlocks budget reconciliation, which is where all this can be achieved.

04:05But one of the principal objectives in our budget resolution and in the House's, as outlined by the Speaker, is spending cuts.

04:13We have got to do something to get the country on a more sustainable fiscal path,

04:17and that entails us taking a hard scrub of our government and figuring out where we can find those savings.

04:23And our ambition in the Senate is we are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined in terms of savings.

04:31The Speaker's talked about $1.5 trillion.

04:33We have a lot of United States Senators who believe that is a minimum.

04:38And we're certainly going to do everything we can to be as aggressive as possible to see that we are serious about the matter not only of making our federal government more fiscally sustainable,