On April 10, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 216-214 to approve a budget resolution negotiated between House and Senate leadership with the full support of the Trump Administration. The Senate passed the resolution on April 5, 2025, by a vote of 51-48. After a brief delay to address the concerns of House Republican holdouts, House Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) were able to convince the all but two of the House Republican conference to approve the measure by offering assurances, including that the proposed $1.5 trillion in spending cuts effectively would be met.

The negotiated budget resolution, which was released on April 3, 2025, includes nearly $5 trillion in tax cuts. It also includes an increase of the debt ceiling by approximately $5 trillion, which was a significant point of contention among conservative House Republicans. Notably, the resolution includes instructions for the House Energy and Commerce Committee to reduce spending under its jurisdiction by $880 billion, a measure that is largely expected to include cuts to the Medicaid program.

With both chambers agreeing to the budget resolution, Congress will begin the process of marking up and packaging legislative language into a single reconciliation bill. 

Impact on General Dentistry: As Congress moves forward with the reconciliation bill, details will emerge regarding how lawmakers plan to achieve the proposed $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, including potential changes to Medicaid policies. This will shed additional light on the impact to dentistry and patients.