Opportunity Finance Network: Congress Passes Budget Resolution, Moving Tax Policy Discussion Forward
With the first step of the reconciliation process complete, OFN continues to advocate for adding community development priorities to the upcoming tax package.
By Lily Jin, Associate, Public Policy, OFN
The long-anticipated reconciliation process is finally moving forward on Capitol Hill. On April 10, the House of Representatives narrowly voted to adopt the Senate-passed budget resolution, after Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pledged to secure at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts in the final tax package. Now that the first step in the reconciliation process is complete, lawmakers can begin writing the bill itself.
Reconciliation is a special mechanism where Congress can pass a bill with a simple majority in the Senate instead of the normal 60-vote threshold, allowing the majority party to pass legislation without bipartisan support in exchange for limitations on what can be included in the bill. GOP leaders plan to use reconciliation to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and implement other priorities on the president’s agenda.
Advocacy for Key Community Development Tax Provisions
OFN has advocated for several key community development tax provisions to be folded into the bill.
Several of OFN’s priority bipartisan community development tax bills have already been reintroduced this Congress, including the New Markets Extension Act of 2025 (H.R.1103/S.479), the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 (H.R.2725), and the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act of 2025 (H.R.2854). The community development tax incentives being considered are crucial tools to drive investment into the nation’s most economically distressed communities and provide relief for small businesses, affordable housing, and community infrastructure.
The details of the tax package are now up to the committees, with tax provisions falling under the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee.