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The Week Ahead...
Sunday, April 19, 2009
7:30 PM

House and Senate budget negotiators will ramp up their efforts to finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget resolution when lawmakers return to Washington this week. Chairmen John Spratt (D-SC) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) trimmed $7 billion and $17 billion, respectively, from the president's $1.096 trillion topline non-emergency discretionary spending request for FY 2010. Conferees must resolve this difference before reporting a final measure.

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In addition, the House's budget allows for filibuster protections for health care and education reforms, and possibly cap-and-trade proposals, though Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has stated that her chamber would not pursue fast-tracking climate change legislation. The Senate version excludes so-called "reconciliation" protections altogether. The final decision on reconciliation will likely get punted to the leadership level.




Conrad acknowledged during floor debate on his budget blueprint that he may not be able to sway Democratic leaders to exclude reconciliation language from the conference report.

"Am I going to be able to prevail in the conference committee on this matter?" Conrad said on March 30th. "I don't know." The Senate's chief budget writer also reiterated that he would "strongly resist any attempt to report out of the conference committee a reconciliation instruction for the purpose of climate change legislation."

The Senate gavels in on Monday at 2:00 PM and will begin consideration of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (S. 386). The bill authorizes $245 million over the FY 2010-2011 period for the Department of Justice, the Postal Inspection Service, and certain other federal agencies to investigate and prosecute violators of mortgage and securities fraud. The legislation also aims to clarify the False Claims Act (FCA) to reflect the original intent of the law. The FCA allows private individuals with knowledge of past or present fraud committed against the government to file claims against federal contractors.



The House is slated to reconvene at 2:00 PM on Tuesday and take up the National Water Research and Development Initiative Act (H.R. 1145) later this week. The bill would direct President Obama to create an interagency committee to implement a national initiative on water research and development along with a National Water Coordination Office within the Office of Science and Technology Policy. H.R. 1145 also would task the Government Accountability Office with examining the feasibility of establishing a pilot testing facility for water research.


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