House Budget Committee reports reconciliation bill after close vote as members press for CBO details and SNAP estimates

The House Budget Committee voted to report the reconciliation measure dubbed the "1 Big Beautiful Bill Act" to the full House after a motion to reconsider and a close roll-call, with the committee recording 17 ayes, 16 noes and 4 present on the final report vote.

The vote followed overnight and weekend deliberations; the committee first agreed to a motion to reconsider the earlier reporting vote after Vice Chairman Rep. Smucker (R-Pa.) moved to reopen consideration. Committee members debated procedural questions about undisclosed negotiations and whether members would have access to any side agreements or updated CBO scores before a floor vote.

The committee chair said deliberations were ongoing and would not be disclosed in detail, adding that any definitive changes would be reflected in a manager's amendment. The chair told members, "we're not going to, disclose, the deliberations," and later said, "You will get it in the manager's amendment." Those comments were made during repeated exchanges about transparency and the timing of CBO information.

Democratic members repeatedly asked for CBO estimates tied to the bill. One member noted an estimate that “at least one policy in the bill would reduce participation in SNAP by 3,000,000 people,” and asked whether the committee had official CBO estimates of how many people could lose school lunch eligibility if SNAP participation fell. In closing remarks, the committee's ranking member, Representative Boyle, said, "13,700,000 Americans at least will lose their healthcare because of this bill," characterizing the bill's likely impact; that figure was presented as the ranking member's view during debate.

After the report vote, the committee ordered the bill reported favorably to the House with a favorable recommendation and noted for the record that a quorum was present. The chair authorized staff to make technical and conforming corrections prior to filing the bill and authorized motions to go to conference with any Senate companion measure. The minority was granted the customary number of days to file its views.

The committee also took separate roll-call votes on four motions to instruct the chairman about amendments or procedural changes; each was rejected on recorded votes. Motion 1, offered by Representative Ballant, failed (16 ayes, 21 noes). Motion 2, offered by Representative Amo, failed (16 ayes, 21 noes). Motion 3, offered by Representative McGarvey to strike sections estimated by CBO to reduce SNAP participation, failed (16 ayes, 21 noes). Motion 4, offered by Representative Jayapal to add a point of order regarding baseline policy estimates, likewise failed (16 ayes, 21 noes).

Committee staff and other nonvoting offices were thanked at the close of the meeting for drafting and scoring work: members thanked the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Legislative Counsel for their roles in scoring and text drafting. The chair said the committee had taken “a critical step” toward passage and described the bill as central to the majority's agenda; the ranking member said Democrats would continue to oppose it based on the impacts they described.

The bill will move next to the House Rules Committee and then to the House floor under the committee's decision-making and the larger House process. Members asked for and received assurances that any definitive CBO scores outstanding would be disclosed before members vote on the floor; the chair said he would look into the timing of any outstanding CBO scores and that, if scores remained outstanding, they would be disclosed before a floor vote.