The Senate voted 51-49Â Thursday to approve its fiscal 2018 budget resolution that would authorize a tax reform plan, The Hill reported Thursday.The budget measure proposes to increase defense spending levels at current rates to reach $684 billion by 2027 and reduce nondefense spending in succeeding years that would result in a $105 billion cut by the end of the decade.
The proposed legislation would reduce baseline spending on Medicare by $473 billion over 10 years and authorize $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid spending over a decade.
The tax plan under the Senate-approved bill would add up to $1.5 trillion to the budget deficit over 10 years.
Politico also reported that the budget resolution includes an amendment that would increase the Defense Department’s fiscal 2018 spending to up to $640 billion without offsets if lawmakers agree to increase spending caps.
Senate and House legislators also reached a compromise Thursday that would allow the budget measure to skip a conference committee between the two congressional chambers, the report added.
