Scalise: Passing the Budget Resolution Can’t Wait

Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) appeared on Fox Business Network's Mornings with Maria to discuss the need to quickly pass the amended budget resolution framework to start the process of working with the Senate to implement President Trump’s agenda by cutting wasteful spending, growing the economy by cutting taxes and unleashing American energy, and securing the border. Leader Scalise also highlighted how this budget bill works in tandem with President Trump as he works towards fair trade and has foreign countries in line to negotiate with the United States.
 
On the urgent need to pass the budget resolution for hardworking families: 

“The bill that we worked incredibly hard on in the House laid out a lot of specifics on how far we're going to go on spending reductions. President Trump is right there with us. You saw, as you pointed out, in his Truth Social yesterday. We're going to still make those savings. The Senate is far behind us right now. You look at their resolution, it didn't go into near the detail. I think that's what some members, including myself, had issue with. But at the end of the day, all the things we want to achieve in the House product can still be achieved.

“The bottom line is we've got to move this process forward, Maria. We can't wait two more months for the Senate to get where we are. The market sure can't wait. The economy can't wait. Families don't want to wait for the relief they're going to get, the certainty they're going to get on locking in tax rates. President Trump needs the money for border security. I was talking to Tom Homan last week. They need more money for deportations. You saw the Supreme Court this morning said they can move forward with deporting these gang members, hardened gang members. But we've got to get this bill done. I know everybody's got their questions. It's more to make sure we're going to follow through on the spending reductions, and we will. President Trump's committed to that. He said it yesterday again in his tweet.”

On the timeline of passing President Trump’s agenda:

“Maria, like any big bill we work on, there's still a lot of conversations we're going to have today. I was in a meeting last night with the Speaker and some members that had some other questions. We went through it, and they're in a good place now, but we have other members that will still have questions today. We're going to answer all of those, and let's then go and move the bill forward. The plan is to move it tomorrow. I think the President is going to be talking to some people as well. We've got dinner with the President tonight, and he's going to be talking about that as well as other things about how important it is to move the Trump agenda. So much of that, as you ran that comment from the Speaker on Fox last night, all of that is in this one big, beautiful bill. It's not just locking in the tax rates; it's border security, it's energy production for America, some defense spending to keep up with China, trying to get some regulatory relief, locking in DOGE savings, all that in this bill. I think you'll see economic growth like we haven't seen, job creation, wage growth for families once we get this bill moved by the summer to the President's desk.”

On President Trump’s steps to fair trade: 

“No, I don't [want Congress to get involved in President Trump’s decision-making on tariffs], Maria. Look, this is a healthy debate. Let everybody have it. But President Trump said in the State of the Union, go back and watch the tape. He said, look, trust me on this, there will be some short-term pain, but long-term, we're going to get fair trade. Countries are going to have to stop ripping us off. I think everybody in America gets that. Even the people that are concerned about the effects on today's market or even on today's prices, they recognize China cheats, manipulates currency, all of those things. But other countries are taking advantage of us, too, that are friendly countries. Why are we letting that happen for decades and decades? If we can get zero tariffs by everybody, look at what you talked about a little while ago with Europe. They have a VAT tax, which is in essence, like a tariff on American products. We don't do that to them. Why don't they treat us the same way? Remove barriers to trade, allow American companies to sell their products into foreign nations, friend or foe, just as easy as it is for them to sell their products here. If you get to fair trade, and that's the end result of this, I think everybody will look back and go, this was a good thing. Look, that's why there's a line out the door, as Scott Bessent mentioned, of countries wanting to get new trade deals with the United States.”

On unlocking economic growth:

“Look, I've been urging my colleagues in the House to move on this bill as quickly as possible for a lot of reasons. One is to get the economy booming. There is a lot of pent-up, and you probably talk to people like I do that say there's trillions of dollars sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if there's going to be tax certainty. Because if there's a four-and-a-half trillion dollar tax hike, meaning if Congress does nothing, that's the taxes that go up on every American. Nobody would be immune from it, and it would crush the economy. We need to get this tax bill in place to give not only certainty to the economy, but to bring that investment back in and get real economic growth.”

On unleashing American energy:

“I hear from people all the time that want American energy, oil and natural gas, especially natural gas. We could have contracts for decades. That's why Trump lifted the ban that Biden had on LNG exports. We are going to continue to produce more energy, and that's in this one big, beautiful bill.”

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