Senate Budget Resolution
On Friday, March 23, the
Senate passed its budget resolution by a vote of 52-47, with two Republicans, Senators Snowe and Collins of Maine, joining
all Democrats in support. The resolution remains mostly unchanged from the version
reported by the budget committee, despite numerous amendments offered on the Senate floor.
Though not perfect, it stands in marked contrast to the budget proposal submitted by the President. Some highlights include:
- Modest increase in non-defense discretionary programs of $6 billion over the level needed just to maintain
current services (know as the budget “baseline”)—an amount $16 billion higher than in the President’s
budget, which proposed $10 billion in cuts to these discretionary programs;
- $50 billion set aside for SCHIP reauthorization, though the funding is contingent upon finding “offsets”
to avoid increasing the deficits;
- Additional “reserve” funds for child care, Farm Bill reauthorization, and the creation of
an Affordable Housing Fund;
- Balanced budget rules, including a full pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rule that applies to any new entitlement
spending or tax changes, that will help restore fiscal discipline and bring the budget back into balance by 2012;
- Moving the costs of the Iraq war “on budget” to avoid the need for additional supplemental spending
and attempt to reflect the true costs of the war;
House Budget Resolution
The House of Representatives
followed suit on March 29th, passing its budget resolution by a slim margin of 216-210. No Republicans voted for
the House budget resolution and 14 Democrats voted against it. The only amendments
that were allowed during the House budget debate were full substitutes that were offered by the Congressional Black Caucus
(defeated by a vote of 115-312), Budget Committee Ranking Member Ryan (R-WI) (defeated by a vote of 160-268), and the Congressional
Progressive Caucus (defeated by a vote of 81-340). The budget that did pass remained
unchanged from the committee mark-up and is mostly similar to the Senate budget resolutions. Some
highlights include:
- A larger increase, $12.4 billion over the “baseline” ($22 billion over the President’s
request), than the Senate for non-defense discretionary programs;
- $50 billion “reserve fund” for SCHIP reauthorization and additional reserve funds for the
Farm Bill and affordable housing;
- PAYGO requirements for any new entitlement spending or tax changes;
- A balanced budget by 2012, though with a smaller surplus than that included in the Senate budget resolution;
Better Budgets, but Problems Remain
Unfortunately, both the House
and Senate budget resolutions assume the level requested by the President for the military without question. There are a number of different estimates for just how high the figure is, but the Friends Committee on
National Legislation puts the total budget request for the military at $660 billion for FY2008, including the costs of military
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even excluding funding for Iraq and Afghanistan, the budget resolutions provide $40 billion over the “baseline” for
last year, roughly 4 times the increases provided to other discretionary programs. The
only congressional action to challenge this imbalance was the Congressional Progressive Caucus alternative budget resolution,
which would have redirected wasteful military spending (over $80 billion) and tax breaks for the wealthy into investments
in education, health care, restoring the safety net, and energy independence.
A lot of work still needs
to be done to bring our federal budget in line with a vision of security that doesn’t depend so much on bombs and guns. However, for the first time in several years, the congressional budget resolutions
include needed increases in funding for human needs programs—a step it in the right direction, if only a small one. More is needed to restore the services that have been lost since 2001, but hopefully
this year’s budget will provide a down payment on future investments.
Next Steps
Beginning at the staff level
over the Spring Recess, congressional negotiators will have to work out the differences between the House and Senate budget
resolutions and send a final budget resolution back to both chambers for a vote. The
biggest points of contention will be the final non-defense discretionary funding level and some of the amendments that were
added to the Senate budget resolution during the floor debate. After the final
budget resolution passes both chambers, the Appropriations committees will begin work on the annual spending bills in which
the funding levels for individual programs will be set. So, there will be many
more opportunities for advocacy as the process moves forward.
Additional Information
About the Budget Process
Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities: Senate Budget Resolution, House Budget Resolution
Friends Committee on National
Legislation: Budget Analyses
NETWORK: Budget Update
National Priorities Project:
National Security Spending, War or…?—Budget Trade-Offs
