Budget Alert: March 23, 2007

Senate Narrowly Passes 2008 Budget Resolution

By a vote of 52-47 the U.S. Senate today passed S.Con.Res. 21, the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Resolution. Republican Senators Snowe and Collins joined Democrats in narrowly passing the budget plan.

The Monday, March 26, 2007 edition of the Washington Budget Report will have a complete wrap- up analysis of amendments adopted by the Senate: which amendments provide funding; which amendments establish "reserve funds" that make reauthorized, new or expanded programs contingent on offsetting spending cuts or revenue increases; which amendments change budget enforcement rules; and which amendments state the Sense of the Senate without impacting policy.

The House will act on its version of the 2008 Budget Resolution next week.

If the House acts early in the week, it is possible that because the Senate-passed and House-reported resolutions are similar, that a House-Senate conference on the Budget Resolution will produce a conference report for House and Senate adoption by the end of the week, prior to Congress adjourning for the Easter/Passover recess.

The Congressional Budget Resolution, as an internal congressional framework to guide subsequent action on spending and revenue bills, is not presented to the President and does not require presidential signature to become effective.