What Does the House’s Budget Resolution Mean for Workers?

Congress kicked off the reconciliation process this week when the Senate and House each passed their own budget resolutions. The bills vary substantially, and to move forward, they must match. The Senate resolution focuses on the border, the military, and energy and avoids tax changes. The House resolution combines Republican priorities into “one big, beautiful bill” (per Trump and Hill allies) that requires $2 trillion worth of spending cuts, allows for up to $4.5 trillion to extend existing tax cuts, and increases the debt limit by $4 trillion (all over 10 years).

These resolutions do not specify which programs will be impacted. The committees of jurisdiction will make those choices once the House and Senate come to a consensus on a resolution with the same funding levels. However, the magnitude of the spending cut requirements in both resolutions (worth noting: the House proposed much higher cuts than the Senate) likely means programs that working families rely on for healthcare, food security, education, and more are in danger of steep cuts. The House bill instructs committees to do the following:

• House Energy & Commerce Committee is instructed to make at least $880 billion in cuts. Even if the committee cuts everything in its jurisdiction except healthcare, it will be $600 billion short. Healthcare cuts could come from a combination of changes to important healthcare access programs like Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), or Affordable Care Act subsidies. However, the bulk of dollars are expected to come from Medicaid, which provides health insurance to over 70 million Americans, most of whom are children. This would lead to a loss of coverage and a shift of financial burden to states. In addition to being a basic human right, access to health insurance improves labor force participation. Montana saw an increase of 6 percentage points in labor force participation among low-income, non-disabled Montanans ages 18-64 after Medicaid expansion, while it saw a decline in labor force participation for higher-income residents during the same period. In an analysis from the state of Michigan, 69 percent of working enrollees said they performed better at work after getting health coverage and 55 percent of enrollees who were out of work said gaining coverage made it easier to look for a job.
• House Committee on Agriculture is instructed to make at least $230 billion in cuts. Experts expect cuts to come from food assistance for underserved Americans, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP helps over 40 million people, including 1 in 5 children, afford groceries. Millions of workers hold jobs with low pay, shifting schedules, and no benefits like paid sick leave. This can lead to income volatility and job turnover. Workers in low-wage jobs, many of whom are enrolled in SNAP, are more likely to experience periods when they are out of work or when their monthly earnings drop. SNAP provides a supplement for lower-than-sustainable wages and supports workers when they are between jobs.
• House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure is instructed to make at least $10 billion in cuts. These cuts could include restricting Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding. Passed in 2021, IIJA provides the largest funding for infrastructure in this nation’s history (to update or build things like airports, bridges, and public transportation) and includes workforce development funding for related fields. Cutting this funding would result in fewer infrastructure jobs and fewer opportunities to receive job training and career advancement.
• House Committee on Financial Services is instructed to make at least $1 billion in cuts. Given recent Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) activities to gut the agency, these cuts are expected to come from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB was established after the Great Recession in 2008 to protect consumers from “unfair, deceptive, or abusive” financial practices. Past actions by the agency include holding big banks accountable for things like opening fake accounts, charging junk fees, or withholding credit card points. Without the CFPB, workers will have fewer opportunities for recourse when they are taken advantage of as consumers.
• House Committee on Education & the Workforce is instructed to make at least $330 billion in cuts, most of which are expected to come from federal student aid and student supports. Project 2025 proposed to eliminate Head Start programs and reconciliation could be used to accomplish this. Loss of access to Head Start would challenge caregivers' ability to work or find child care, to say nothing of the loss of positive long-term effects like increases in high school completion and higher earnings for enrollees. On the higher education side, federal student aid and student supports are necessary for students with low incomes to be able to enroll in and complete the education and job training necessary to secure a good job with a living wage.

The House resolution’s potential $4.5 trillion in tax cuts largely are expected to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) cuts. These benefits were targeted at wealthy individuals and corporations instead of working families at low- and middle-income levels. To put it plainly, working people – constituents of this Congress – will lose access to health care, childcare, education and job training so that wealthy people get tax breaks.

While the House and Senate debate spending levels and committees debate the fine print, the reality is simple—cuts like these do not prioritize everyday Americans. In fact, they harm them. As negotiations continue, members of Congress who do have workers’ best interests in mind must stay engaged and continue to push for policies that truly support economic stability and opportunity for all, not just the wealthiest few.