Monday, March 23, 2009
Last Week in Washinton - 3/23/09
It will be a big week for budget discussions in Washington as it looks like the House and Senate Budget Committees will consider their respective versions of the budget resolution this week.
BUDGET RESOLUTION
The House and Senate Budget Committees plan to mark up their respective versions of a budget resolution this week. If they do, House and Senate floor consideration would occur the following week (March 30). The two-week recess for Easter and Passover starts on April 6. Leadership hopes to complete conference sometime in late April or May.
Congress is still hearing a lot of opposition to many aspects of the President's budget proposals. This is not simply opposition from conservative Democrats and Republicans; a number of Democrats are concerned that after the stimulus bill and omnibus appropriations, that this is not the time to further increase nondefense discretionary or appropriated spending.
These concerns have been heightened by the Congressional Budget Office's reestimate of the President's budget which projects a deficit of nearly $1.7 trillion (11.9 percent of GDP) in 2009 and $1.1 trillion (7.9 percent of GDP) in FY2010. This is significantly worse than the levels projected by the Administration when it sent up the budget. It reinforces the importance of two aspects of the President's budget proposals: containing health care costs is essential to addressing the long-term fiscal problem, and revenues are going to have to be on the table.
OMB Director Peter Orzag has launched a blog. An entry this week provided more information about one-time increases in discretionary spending for the Census and the FHA that help to explain why the President's levels are not excessive. Add it to your bookmarks!
HEALTH
Both sides of the Hill are engaging in health care reform-related activities. Committees in both bodies are holding hearings. The Finance Committee, which is the lead Committee in the Senate, has signaled that it is working toward marking up a bill in late spring.
BUDGET RESOLUTION
The House and Senate Budget Committees plan to mark up their respective versions of a budget resolution this week. If they do, House and Senate floor consideration would occur the following week (March 30). The two-week recess for Easter and Passover starts on April 6. Leadership hopes to complete conference sometime in late April or May.
Congress is still hearing a lot of opposition to many aspects of the President's budget proposals. This is not simply opposition from conservative Democrats and Republicans; a number of Democrats are concerned that after the stimulus bill and omnibus appropriations, that this is not the time to further increase nondefense discretionary or appropriated spending.
These concerns have been heightened by the Congressional Budget Office's reestimate of the President's budget which projects a deficit of nearly $1.7 trillion (11.9 percent of GDP) in 2009 and $1.1 trillion (7.9 percent of GDP) in FY2010. This is significantly worse than the levels projected by the Administration when it sent up the budget. It reinforces the importance of two aspects of the President's budget proposals: containing health care costs is essential to addressing the long-term fiscal problem, and revenues are going to have to be on the table.
OMB Director Peter Orzag has launched a blog. An entry this week provided more information about one-time increases in discretionary spending for the Census and the FHA that help to explain why the President's levels are not excessive. Add it to your bookmarks!
HEALTH
Both sides of the Hill are engaging in health care reform-related activities. Committees in both bodies are holding hearings. The Finance Committee, which is the lead Committee in the Senate, has signaled that it is working toward marking up a bill in late spring.
