Last week, the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that is a necessary element for advancing President Donald Trump’s and congressional Republicans’ domestic policy agenda. Passage of a budget resolution by both the House and Senate is a key step in the budget reconciliation process, which enables legislation to avoid being delayed by a filibuster in the Senate.

The House departed for its district work week and will return April 28. Congressional committees are then expected to begin drafting and marking up the legislative language of the reconciliation bill, which will have to stay within the spending and revenue targets of the budget resolution. The House and Senate versions of the budget resolution give differing instructions and budget numbers but essentially allow both chambers to defer resolution of any differences to the drafting of the legislation by committees. At that point, hardline positions on spending cuts demanded by fiscal conservatives in the House could delay agreement on a final bill.