House Ways and Means Committee adopts reconciliation committee print after overnight markup

The House Committee on Ways and Means voted to adopt the committee print on the reconciliation package after an overnight markup that lasted more than 17 hours, then transmitted the committee's recommendations to the House Budget Committee.

The committee voted 26-19 to adopt the committee print as amended and repeated that margin, 26-19, to transmit the recommendations and accompanying materials, including minority views, to the House Committee on the Budget. Chairman Smith presided over the session and called the roll for both actions.

The markup included dozens of offered amendments addressing health-care subsidies, housing incentives, veteran benefits, start-up tax relief, and the treatment of university endowments. Many of those amendments failed on recorded roll calls; several sponsors withdrew amendments after brief colloquies with the chair or colleagues.

Representative Richard Neal praised staff and members after the vote, saying, "I want to thank the staff for their great work as usual. I thought our members were extremely well prepared." Chairman Smith closed the meeting by authorizing staff to make technical and conforming changes to the adopted text and giving members two additional days to file supplemental or dissenting views with the committee clerk.

The committee's action completes the House Ways and Means procedural step on the reconciliation directive in H.Con.Res.14 and sends the package and supporting materials to the Budget Committee, which will incorporate the recommendations as part of the reconciliation process.

Committee members on both sides repeatedly said they preferred conducting markup during normal business hours; several members noted the late-hour timing as a procedural and public-engagement concern.