Lots of budget-related discussions are underway. The Omnibus is stalled in the Senate, the President’s budget is being discussed in many committees, and health care and climate change are prominently featured on the legislative agenda for later this spring. Meanwhile, the economic news is pretty dismal. Today’s jobs report indicates that unemployment has grown to 8.1 percent.

OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS

Despite having warded off a number of amendments this week, the Senate has been unable to garner the 60 votes needed to adopt the Omnibus bill to fund nine Appropriations bills through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year. Congress will pass a short-term continuing resolution today and will try again to adopt a larger package next week. We are still hopeful that a deal can be reached but it is possible the Congress will end up passing a year-long appropriations bill, which would continue to freeze funding for most domestic discretionary programs at last year’s levels. These discussions show the continuing difficulty this Congress is having on reaching bipartisan agreements.

PRESIDENT’S BUDGET

The President’s budget proposal is encountering challenges from both sides of the aisle. Senator Voinovich has been an especially harsh critic. Stay posted for more info and advocacy opportunities as the budget continues to be developed.

HEALTH CARE FRAMEWORK, TIMING

After a bipartisan meeting yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee has indicated it will discuss health care in three pieces in preparation for a June markup and floor consideration in July.

On the House side, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the House hopes to take up its version of health care reform by August.

Have a great weekend!