Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Second District U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym led Indiana's House Republicans in a letter to President Donald Trump on Thursday pressuring the Senate to move quickly on a $95 billion budget resolution that would fund military operations in the Middle East, deliver relief to farmers and advance new election integrity measures.
The letter was signed by the seven Republicans in the Indiana delegation: Yakym, Marlin Stutzman, Jim Baird, Victoria Spartz, Jefferson Shreve, Mark Messmer and Erin Houchin, according to a copy of the letter.
"Hoosiers don't ask for much. They want a country capable of countering our adversaries, food on their tables and elections they can trust. In Indiana, we call that common sense,” Rep. Yakym told the Times-Union Friday. “House Republicans delivered on all three in July with a budget resolution that funds our military, supports our farmers and secures our elections. The Senate needs to pass it now. Too much is at stake."
At issue is House Concurrent Resolution 113, which the House passed July 22 on a 216-214 vote. The resolution sets the federal budget for fiscal year 2027 and unlocks the reconciliation process, allowing the Senate to advance the underlying legislation by simple majority rather than the 60 votes normally required to overcome a filibuster.
In the letter, the Indiana members wrote that the resolution would equip American warfighters to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and confront the threat Iran poses to U.S. assets, allies and partners in the Middle East. They also wrote that it would lift up farmers facing adversity from circumstances outside their control, and would secure the integrity of election.
The resolution now sits with the Senate, which has taken no action on it since the House vote. Both chambers must adopt identical versions before the process can move forward.
If the Senate signs off on the budget resolution framework, four House committees - Armed Services, Agriculture, Intelligence and House Administration - would be tasked with writing the actual legislation. That bill, unlike the resolution itself, would go to Trump's desk for signature.
