Statement on the debt implications of “Reconciliation 3.0”

This statement is in response to breaking news. Please contact pr@rstreet.org to speak with the scholar.

The House Budget Committee is set to mark up the so-called “SAVE and Protect America Act,” a concurrent budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2027. It contains reconciliation instructions for a variety of committees and ultimately moves to enact portions of President Trump’s recent request for funds for the ongoing conflict with Iran, aid for agribusinesses, and the “SAVE Act.” Commonly referred to as “Reconciliation 3.0,” this resolution follows the path of 2025’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and 2026’s “Secure America Act,” both of which significantly contribute to our growing debt.

In response, Nan Swift, R Street Institute resident senior fellow with our governance program, issued the following statement:

“It is disappointing that for the third time in a row congressional Republicans would use budget reconciliation, a deficit-reduction tool, to exacerbate our perilous fiscal outlook. 

When first created, the fast-track procedure was intended to be part of a robust process to help address persistent deficits, ballooning outlays, and frustrating delays in annual appropriations. Today, those issues are still a feature of our federal landscape, and repeated abuse of the reconciliation process further weakens both our fiscal outlook and the core concept of budgeting. 

Enforceable, transparent, and realistic budgets are necessary for financial accountability and to chart a responsible financial path. Instead of taking a broad–and much-needed–view of our total financial disposition as intended by the budget process, legislative leaders are carving out discrete portions of the federal ledger merely to kick-start a partisan end-run of their colleagues. 

Legislating is difficult by design. Members of Congress are considering weighty issues on behalf of a dynamic and diverse populace, and the process reflects that. Reckless shortcuts like the current resolution undermine public trust, and in this case, our economic prosperity.”