Final Budget Resolution Still a Couple of Weeks Away

Capitol Hill Update
Legislative Advisory

May 1, 2008

Despite this week’s agreement with House Blue Dogs, the fiscal 2009 budget resolution  probably won’t move to conference until next week and won’t see floor action until the week after.
 
Agreeing on a discretionary spending cap remains the highest-priority chore, but House-Senate leadership and some budget staff are increasingly focused on completing the farm bill and assembling the war supplemental. Many other smaller issues also still must be resolved, which could take time as well, House staff said Wednesday. The agreement between House and Senate budget leaders and House Blue Dog Democrats, reached April 29, cleared the largest hurdle by removing reconciliation from this year’s budget picture. And while Hoyer told reporters early in the day he was “hopeful” a budget conference report could come to the floor next week, staff later said it was more likely the week of May 12.
 
Democratic leaders have been discussing adding some elements of a stimulus to the war supplemental, and moving a separate stimulus package sometime after that. Hoyer yesterday outlined plans to consider at least a half-dozen major pieces of legislation before the break — including the war supplemental and housing-related legislation designed to ease the mortgage crisis, which are slated for floor action next week, and the defense authorization bill, expected to be on the House floor the third week of May.