ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Senate passed a Republican budget blueprint last Saturday aimed at extending President Trump's $trillion tax cut policy from 2017 and significantly cutting government spending. The Senate approved the "budget reconciliation" measure by a vote of 51-48, which will allow Republicans to bypass the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, enabling them to pass Trump's tax, border security, and military priorities later this year without Democratic support. The bill will be sent to the Republican-controlled House, which is expected to review it this week.Nonpartisan analysts say that if Trump's agenda is approved, it will increase federal government debt by about $5.7 trillion over the next 10 years. Senate Republicans estimate the cost of the measure to be $1.5 trillion and argue that the impact of extending the existing tax policies set to expire at the end of this year should not be counted toward the cost of the measure.