House Freedom Caucus and Tuesday Group at Odds Over 2018 Budget Resolution
Amidst debate surrounding major spending cuts to the budget, the House Budget Committee canceled recent plans to send a budget resolution for fiscal year 2018, a prerequisite to passing tax reform in the Senate without support of Democrats, to the House floor. The conservative Freedom Caucus will only support a budget resolution if it includes cuts to welfare programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. The moderate House Tuesday Group opposes such cuts, leery of a reduction in benefits to the poor while corporate America and the wealthy profit from cuts. Each group holds enough votes to block a budget resolution. In a letter to Speaker Ryan, the Tuesday Group requested that the budget resolution process be postponed until the Senate has concluded its healthcare debate.