Budget bill stands in way of congressional recess

There is just one small thing standing in the way of lawmakers and the beginning of the two-week spring recess: a $3.6 trillion budget for the federal government.

So as tourists begin streaming into the capital region for a look at the cherry blossoms, members of the House and Senate will be voting to approve the fiscal 2010 budget resolution so they can go the opposite direction and hit the highways, railroads and airports for home.

The House and Senate will take up their budget resolutions this week as Democrats seek to lay the groundwork for healthcare reform and other elements of President Obama's agenda, as Republicans continue to make the case that the programs will hurt the struggling economy.

After some housekeeping suspension bills, final approval of a national service bill and consideration of legislation to curb bonuses of executives at financial institutions that receive federal bailout money, the House will turn to the budget resolution.

The House Budget Committee sent it to the floor last week on a 24-15 party-line vote.

House Republicans plan to have a substitute GOP budget proposal considered, according to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va. His comments come after House Republicans came out with a budget outline, which was roundly criticized by Democrats for being short on substance.

Meanwhile, the Senate will begin debate Monday on the resolution, with a final vote expected late Thursday or on Friday. The Senate Budget Committee approved the resolution Thursday, 13-10, also a party-line vote.

Senate debate this week will culminate in the annual vote-a-rama. The term stems from a provision in the Congressional Budget Act that allows for an unlimited number of amendments to the resolution, as a way to protect the rights of the minority.

The typically chaotic series of votes tends to linger for days, with little time for review of amendments and only two minutes of debate on each one. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., recently held a hearing on the vote-a-rama to see if there was a way to improve the process.

Senate Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said Republicans intend to offer a slew of amendments to try to curb spending, some of which were defeated during the committee markup Thursday.

Gregg said Republicans will offer an amendment that would prevent the resolution from including reconciliation instructions if they are not in the Senate measure.

While the Senate resolution does not include reconciliation instructions, the House resolution does for healthcare reform and education legislation; reconciliation only requires majority support, which enables those employing it to avoid Senate filibusters.

Congressional Democrats last week have refused to rule out using reconciliation. Other differences include the level in fiscal 2010 non-discretionary defense spending. The House bill would provide for $532.6 billion. The Senate bill calls for $525 billion.

Both resolutions include deficit-neutral reserve funds for healthcare reform, energy and education -- three pillars of the Obama agenda -- leaving it up to the committees of jurisdiction to draft legislation on matters such as a cap-and-trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions.