Capitol Hill Reports
Home About Us Staff & Contact Info Order Capitol Hill Reports Subscriber Log In

En Route to Final Passage, House and Senate Reject GOP Alternatives to Democrats' FY 2010 Budget Blueprints
Friday, April 3, 2009
12:30 AM

House and Senate Democrats on Thursday defeated Republican-sponsored substitute budget alternatives to their respective FY 2010 fiscal blueprints, clearing the way for final passage of both measures. The House passed its version on a mostly party-line vote of 233 to 196, with about 20 Democrats crossing the aisle and voting against the measure. The Senate cleared its version on a 55 to 43 vote, with two Democrats -- Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) -- joining a unanimous Republican caucus in opposing the resolution.
Sign Up for News Alerts
News Archive

The Senate kicked off its annual "vote-arama" Thursday afternoon when the body rejected Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) substitute budget amendment that would have essentially frozen discretionary spending -- except for defense and veterans programs -- over the next five fiscal years. The McCain proposal, which fell on a 38 to 60 vote, would have also established an entitlement commission tasked with providing recommendations to lawmakers on reducing the growth rate of entitlements by at least four percent over five years. The commission's role and objectives were based on a plan initially unveiled during the previous Congress by Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ranking Member Judd Gregg (R-NH). In addition, the McCain substitute would have made room for a permanent extension of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts.

"Tough decisions have to be made," McCain said on the floor prior to the vote on his fiscal blueprint, also asserting that his budget outline is more fiscally responsible than the underlying Democratic measure. "This is a tough budget proposal."

Conrad disagreed, arguing that "there's virtually no difference between the debt" at the end of the five-year window when comparing his mark with McCain's budget proposal. "The debt as the share of GDP on the budget that is on the floor is 98.7 percent in 2014," Conrad said. "The senator from Arizona's is 98.3 [percent of GDP]."

Several GOP senators did win approval of their amendments, including freshman Mike Johanns (R-NE), who secured adoption of language prohibiting climate legislation involving a cap-and-trade system from being considered under the fast-track and filibuster-proof procedure called "reconciliation." 

"[N]ow it will be possible to have the full and open debate this issue deserves," Johanns said after yesterday's 67 to 31 vote in favor of his amendment.

Our Thoughts...

Not necessarily, Mr. Johanns. There is no guarantee that your amendment -- or any other amendment adopted during Senate floor debate -- will find its way into the final version of the FY 2010 budget resolution. House and Senate Democratic leaders will have the final say on which provisions to keep, modify, and/or strike during the conference negotiations, which are expected to begin over the two-week Easter recess. It is also important to note that the annual budget resolution does not have the force of law, and therefore neither do the amendments adopted during committee and floor consideration that end up being preserved in the conference report. The final FY 2010 budget measure will provide only a broad framework for legislation drafted later this year, with the committees of jurisdiction deciding specific spending, tax, and authorizing provisions.


Across the Capitol, the House on Thursday rejected two Republican-sponsored substitutes along with alternatives crafted by two Democratic factions. Similar to Sen. McCain's proposal, the House GOP's primary substitute would have frozen domestic discretionary spending along with repealing economic stimulus funding beyond the current fiscal year (excluding unemployment insurance), among other fiscally hawkish proposals. According to a summary released by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), the Republican budget would have shaved $875 billion from the government's debt in FY 2010 compared to President Obama's budget request, and cut $3.6 trillion from the administration's debt over the ten-year window.

"The Democrat budget lacks focus on the key issues facing our nation, and irresponsibly burdens our children with a debt that they will be unable to pay back," Cantor argued after unveiling the GOP substitute earlier this week.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) fired back on Thursday.

"It is unfortunate that Republicans, in their budget, repeal the recovery act and reduce jobs," Hoyer said. "Democrats know that those policies are the wrong way to go."
House Budget Resolution
Chairman's Mark (Text)
Chairman's Mark (Charts)
Chairman's Mark (Summary)
Senate Budget Resolution
Chairman's Mark (Text)
Chairman's Mark (Overview)

Chairman's Mark (Charts)

Chairman's Mark (Summary)



 

Speaking on the prospect of Democrats using reconciliation to push through their -- and the White House's -- top policy priorities, the majority leader announced that the procedure would be used for health care and education reforms if Congress fails to pass these initiatives through the normal legislative process, though he was silent on the issue of cap-and-trade legislation.

"But the truth is that both parties have used reconciliation to implement the policies assumed in budget resolutions," said Hoyer. "Under President Bush, it was the Republican option of first resort to pass irresponsible tax cuts; under this budget, it is simply a fallback if partisanship blocks progress."

Below is a snapshot of Senate floor amendments adopted to the FY 2010 budget leading up to final passage, followed by House action on the four substitute amendments. (By tradition, the House only allows for the consideration of full substitute amendments to the annual budget resolution.)

Senate FY 2010 Budget Resolution
Floor Amendments Adopted
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) - Requires that certain legislation relating to clean energy technologies not increase electricity or gasoline prices or increase the overall burden on consumers.
John Thune (R-SD) - Amends the deficit-neutral reserve fund for climate change legislation to require that such legislation does not increase electricity or gasoline prices.
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - Aims to ensure that future GI Bill benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserve keep pace with the national average cost of tuition.
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for improving child welfare.
Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) - Recommends the following additional funding levels to support the administration's efforts to combat drug, gun, and cash smuggling by the cartels in Mexico: $260 million for Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, equip, and deploy additional officers and canines and conduct exit inspections for weapons and cash; $130 million for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hire, train, equip and deploy additional investigators; $50 million to Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to hire, train, equip, and deploy additional agents and inspectors; $20 million for the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center; $10 million for the Office of International Affairs and the Management Directorate at DHS for oversight of the Merida Initiative; $30 million for Operation Stonegarden; $10 million to the Department of Justice for competitive grants to support local, State, and Tribal law enforcement agencies located along the southern border and in High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to address drug-related criminal activity; $20 million to DHS for tactical radio communications; and $20 million for upgrading the Traveler Enforcement Communications System.
Bob Casey (D-PA) - Establishes a reserve fund to fully fund the Long-Term Stability/Housing for Victims Program.
John Kerry (D-MA) - Calls for fully funding the president's request for the international affairs budget, in support of development programs in Pakistan and Afghanistan, nuclear nonproliferation, foreign assistance, fighting global AIDS, promoting sustainable development, and other efforts, with an offset.
Johnny Isakson (R-GA) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for providing a nonrefundable federal income tax credit for the purchase of a principal residence during a 1-year period.
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) - Establishes a reserve fund for monitoring of FHA-insured lending.
John Ensign (R-NV) - Allows for a point of order in the Senate against legislation that increase taxes on middle-income taxpayers, including taxes that arise, directly or indirectly, from federal revenues derived from climate change or similar legislation.
John Cornyn (R-TX) - Allows for a point of order in the Senate to against legislation that raises income tax rates on small businesses.
Jack Reed (D-RI) - Calls for an increase in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) by $1.9 billion in FY 2010.
Mike Johanns (R-NE) - Prohibits the use of reconciliation in the Senate for climate change legislation involving a cap-and-trade system.
James Inhofe (R-OK) - Provides for advanced appropriations for veterans' medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mike Enzi (R-WY) - Allows for a point of order against legislation that increases taxes during any period when the unemployment rate exceeds 5.8 percent.
John Thune (R-SD) - Aims to protect charitable giving by ensuring that organizations providing religious, educational, cultural, health care, and environmental services are not negatively impacted by changes to federal income tax deductions for charitable donations.
Mike Enzi (R-WY) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to repeal certain deductions from mineral revenue payments made to states.
Mark Pryor (D-AR) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for the Veterans Health Administration to ensure that the supply of appropriately prepared health care professionals is available to meet the needs of the Veterans Health Administration.
Richard Burr (R-NC) - Calls for the development of biodefense medical countermeasures by fully funding the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in a fiscally responsible manner.
Jack Reed (D-RI) - Aims to ensure that the deficit-neutral reserve fund for higher education may be used for Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership programs).
Pat Roberts (R-KS) - Calls for Congress to fully fund the small business child care grant program.
Mary Landrieu (D-LA) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for foster care financing reform.
Jim Bunning (R-KY) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide for legislation to increase the amount of capital losses allowed to individuals.
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) - Calls for $10 million in additional funding for organ transplantation and organ donation activities at the Health Resources and Services Administration during FY 2010.
Jim Bunning (R-KY) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for the repeal of the 1993 increase in the income tax on social security benefits.
Mark Pryor (D-AR) - Amends a deficit-neutral reserve fund to ensure improvement of infrastructure related to flood control.
Tom Carper (D-DE) - Establishes a deficit-reduction reserve fund for the elimination and recovery of improper payments. 
Susan Collins (R-ME) - Modifies the provision relating to the deficit-neutral reserve fund for clean energy legislation to include industrial energy efficiency programs.
Chris Dodd (D-CT) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for provisions of critical resources to firefighters and fire departments.
Bob Bennett (R-UT) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to cover the full cost of pension obligations for employees of laboratories and environmental cleanup sites under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy.
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) - Calls for improvements to the employer-provided child care credit and the dependent care tax credit.
Harry Reid (D-NV) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to permanently extend the deduction for state and local taxes.
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide for the extension of the top individual tax rates for small businesses after 2010.
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool program.
Sam Brownback (R-KY) - Calls for funding a Commission on Budgetary Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies.
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) - Allows for a point of order against legislation that has the effect of imposing a greater tax liability on taxpayers who are married than if such taxpayers had filed individual tax returns (a.k.a. marriage tax penalty).
John Barrasso (R-WY) - Calls for a funding increase for the hazardous fuels reduction program.
Patty Murray (D-WA) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for legislation to enable states to establish or expand quality programs for early childhood home visitation.
Tom Coburn (R-OK) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to require that all federal contracts over $25,000 be competitively bid.
Bob Menendez (D-NJ) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for the Violence Against Women Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) - Aims to protect middle-income taxpayers from a national energy tax.
Tom Coburn (R-OK) - Expresses support for President Obama in his effort to go line-by-line through the federal budget in order to help him eliminate wasteful, inefficient and duplicative programs.
Tom Coburn (R-OK) - Calls for ending bonuses awarded to contractors and government executives responsible for over-budget projects and programs that fail to meet basic performance requirements.
Jack Reed (D-RI) - Calls for the expenditure of the remaining TARP funds for the benefit of consumers.
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - Calls for legislation that removes Social Security numbers from Medicare cards and to pay for such legislation by reducing waste, fraud and abuse in other federal programs.
Bob Casey (D-PA) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to provide for accelerated carbon capture and storage and advanced clean coal power generation research, development, demonstration and deployment.
Michael Bennet (D-CO) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to address Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement inequities that lead to access problems in rural areas, including access to primary care and outpatient services, hospitals and an adequate supply of providers in the workforce.
Bob Bennett (R-UT) - Prohibits changing current tax laws for charitable contribution tax deductions to pay for modernizing the health care system.
Bernie Sanders (I-VT) - Requires information from the Federal Reserve System about the use of emergency economic assistance.
Chris Dodd (D-CT) - Calls for enhanced oversight of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System concerning the use of emergency economic assistance.
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for estate tax relief.
Mark Udall (D-CO) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for wildland fire management activities.
Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to increase the end strength for active duty personnel of the United States Army.
Roger Wicker (R-MS) - To ensure that law abiding Amtrak passengers are allowed to securely transport firearms in their checked baggage.
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to support the National Health Service Corps.
Chris Dodd (D-CT) - Calls for $188 million in additional funding for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant within the Health Resources and Services Administration during FY 2010.
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) - Calls for funding freight and passenger rail.
Jon Tester (D-MT) - Calls for increased funding for veterans beneficiary travel reimbursement mileage rate, with an offset.
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) - Calls for full funding of Adam Walsh Act programs.
Claire McCaskill (D-MO) - Expands the matters covered by the deficit-neutral reserve fund for defense acquisition and contracting reform.
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to promote payment policies under the Medicare program that reward quality and efficient care and address geographic variations in spending.
Mike Enzi (R-WY) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to improve the animal health and disease program.
Susan Collins (R-ME) - Aims to ensure that the deficit-neutral reserve fund for higher education may be used for Federal TRIO programs and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs.
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to promote individual savings and financial security.
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) - Aims to ensure that health coverage is affordable to small businesses and individuals who are self-employed.
Mark Pryor (D-AR) - Establishes deficit-neutral reserve funds to enhance and coordinate drug control efforts among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies through the expansion of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program and increased drug interdiction funding at the Department of Homeland Security.
Mark Begich (D-AK) - Calls for funding retirement benefits for members of the Alaska Territorial Guard who served during and after World War II.
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - Calls for the establishment of clean renewable energy manufacturing supply chains.
Dick Durbin (D-IL) - Calls for an extension and expansion of the charitable IRA rollover.
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to expedite research at the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency on the viability of the use of higher ethanol blends at the service station pump.
Christopher Bond (R-MO) - Allows for a point of order against climate change or similar legislation that raises federal revenues to such an extent that it causes significant job loss in manufacturing or coal-dependent U.S. regions such as the Midwest, Great Plains or South.
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) - Adds language to the authorization for climate change legislation to call for the creation of new jobs "in a clean technology economy, strengthen the manufacturing competitiveness of the United States, diversify the domestic clean energy supply to increase the energy security of the United States, protect consumers (including policies that address regional differences), provide incentives for cost-savings achieved through energy efficiencies, provide voluntary opportunities for agriculture and forestry communities to contribute to reducing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere."
Tom Coburn (R-OK) - Creates a deficit-neutral reserve fund to set performance standards to identify failing government programs.
David Vitter (R-LA) - Adds language to the deficit-neutral reserve fund to invest in clean energy and preserve the environment by prohibiting future legislation from: increasing the cost of producing energy from domestic sources, including oil and gas from the Outer Continental Shelf or other areas; increasing the cost of energy for American families; increasing the cost of energy for domestic manufacturers, farmers, fishermen, or other domestic industries; enhancing foreign competitiveness against U.S. businesses.
Jim DeMint (R-SC) - Allows for a point of order against any legislation that eliminates the ability of Americans to keep their health plan or their choice of doctor.
Sherrod Brown (D-OH) - Modifies the deficit-neutral reserve fund for economic stabilization and growth to promote new employment opportunities that are critical to economic recovery by supporting strategies that help workers seeking specialized training for emerging industries.
Olympia Snowe (R-ME) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to require a certain portion of funding for the Energy Star Program of the Environmental Protection Agency to be allocated to the Energy Star for Small Business Program.
John Barrasso (R-WY) - Provides that the authorized climate change legislation decrease greenhouse gas emissions without regulating carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, water vapor or methane emissions from biological processes associated with livestock production.
Tom Coburn (R-OK) - Calls for legislation that allows for a temporary suspension of the 10 percent tax penalty in order for struggling families to make an early withdrawal from their qualified retirement accounts to pay their monthly mortgage payments.
Jon Kyl (R-AZ) - Calls for the denial of funding for federal government expenditures to companies that are obtaining at least $1 million in revenue in the sale of goods or services to or investments in Iran's energy sector.
John Thune (R-SD) - Calls for a total of $99 million in COPS Hot Spots funding, as authorized in the Combat Meth Act.
Mike Crapo (R-ID) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for nuclear research and development.
Mike Crapo (R-ID) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for the innovative loan guarantee program of the Department of Energy.
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) - Calls for increased funding for the National Health Service Corps.
David Vitter (R-LA) - Aims to protect more than six million Americans employed by the domestic oil and gas industry and to ensure low-cost energy for America's consumers, businesses and families.
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund for the 2012 completion of Food and Drug Administration facilities.
John Barrasso (R-WY) - Calls for funding to enable certain individuals and entities to comply with the Endangered Species Act.
John Barrasso (R-WY) - Calls for increased funding made available for the conduct reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Mike Enzi (R-WY) - Reinstates a point of order for legislation that creates unfunded mandates on states and local governments.
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) - Calls for a reduction in U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources, minimizing future gasoline price increases and reducing the federal budget deficit through expanded oil and gas production on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to address our nation's long-term fiscal challenges.
Mike Crapo (R-ID) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to increase the borrowing authority of the FDIC and the National Credit Union Administration.
Lamar Alexander (R-TN) - Calls for maximizing higher education access and affordability by ensuring that institutions of higher education education and their students are able to continue to participate in a competitive student loan program, in order to maintain a comprehensive choice of student loan products and services.
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) - Establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to improve the safety of the food supply in the U.S.
Mark Begich (D-AK) - Calls for additional funding for the conduct of arctic oil spill research.
Mark Begich (D-AK) - Expresses the sense of the Senate regarding the funding level for the Denali Commission.
Dick Durbin (D-IL) - Calls for no additional estate tax relief beyond that which is already assumed in the resolution unless an equal amount of aggregate tax relief is also provided to Americans earning less than $100,000 per year.
 
House FY 2010 Budget Resolution
Proposed Substitute Budget Alternatives
Republican Substitute (Rejected: 137-293) - Freezes domestic discretionary spending over five years. Permanently extends the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and permanently fixes the alternative minimum tax. Suspends capital gains taxes through 2010. Reduces corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Provides $5 billion more for defense compared to president's budget.
Congressional Black Caucus Substitute (Rejected: 113-318) - Immediately repeals the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest Americans. Adds a 0.565% surtax on adjustable gross income exceeding $500,000 for individuals ($1 million for joint filers), and directs those revenues towards education, health care, job training, international aid, transportation, and veterans programs.
Progressive Caucus Substitute (Rejected: 84-348) - Provides $991 billion for non-military discretionary spending in FY 2010, $469 billion above President Obama's request. Provides $479 billion for defense. Eliminates Cold War-era weapons systems, and targets waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon. Repeals the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 a year, and reinstates a quarter-cent tax (0.25%) on all stock transactions. Aims to provide health care for all Americans, cut poverty in half in ten years, additional economic stimulus, increased foreign assistance, combat global warming and establish energy independence.
Republican Study Committee Substitute (Rejected: 111-322) - Sets spending levels, revenue levels, and deficit levels at lower amounts than what is projected by the CBO baseline or what is proposed in the president's budget request. Provides defense funding at the president's level, and freezes non-defense discretionary spending plus a one percent reduction to prior year spending levels. Assumes other savings from reductions to lower-priority spending. 



© Copyright Capitol Hill Reports, Inc. (2009). No claim to original government works.