As you are likely aware, yesterday Rep. Randy ''Duke'' Cunningham (R-CA) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax charges and resigned from office. Cunningham admitted to taking $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators. He entered pleas in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004.

House Ethics rules say that any lawmaker convicted of a felony should no longer vote or participate in committee work. Cunningham's resignation means Republicans have one fewer vote in favor of the contentious and harmful budget and tax bills the House will be working on this month. That narrows the margin of support for the spending cuts bill to only one vote.

With the help of twenty-two Republican House members, the House surprisingly rejected the Labor/HHS appropriations bill which came out of conference negotiations last week. It is unclear now exactly what will happen with the bill, which would have cut $1.5 billion from programs.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) want to return to conference to write a report more palatable to the dissenting Republican members, but House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has said he prefers adopting a yearlong continuing resolution to fund HHS programs. Funding the Labor-HHS programs under a yearlong continuing resolution effectively would trim $1.4 billion from the bill, because it would be funded at the lower of the last two years' spending levels.

There have been many headaches for the GOP in Congress over the past two months, but one of the most public has been a battle over funding for two proposed bridges in Alaska. Funding for the so-called "bridges-to-nowhere" was included in the six year transportation reauthorization bill earlier this year (over $452 million in total), but had become a political liability to the Republican party over the past two months.

In fact, the earmarks had caused the party so much embarrassment - particularly the span to be named "Don Young Way" after 16-term Rep. Don Young (R-AK) - that House leaders decided to remove the funding in the FY06 Transportation appropriations conference report, which was passed today by the House 392 - 31. Young was reportedly so angry at his colleagues that he confronted Reps. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), hurling angry comments at them for sabotaging his pet project and calling other lawmakers hypocrites for not criticizing other "pork" transportation projects in their own districts.

But the real kicker here is that the funding wasn't actually removed from the bill. Alaska will still receive the more than $400 million dollars originally outlined for the bridges, but will now be free to spend it on any transportation projects they see fit - perhaps, say, a new bridge.

So the temper-tantrum Young threw was either a result of a lack of understanding of the implications of the appropriations conference report or a overinflated sense of theatrical hubris - or perhaps both.

Following up on a previous blog posting regarding Sen. Tom Harkin's (D-IA) amendment to the reconciliation tax bill yesterday, it appears that some of his original supporters deserted him during the actual vote. His amendment, which was defeated 50-46 would have increased the amount appropriated to carry out programs under the Community Services Block Grant Act. It failed despite the fact that fifty-eight Senators signed a letter November 9 stating their support for upholding CSBG funding at $637 million in negotiations with the House on the Labor/HHS bill.

It is interesting then that Harkin’s amendment, which proposed to do exactly this, went down in flames. Seventeen Senators who gave their support on to this letter a little over a week ago didn’t show their support when it mattered — during the vote. These Senators were:

The House voted 217-215 early this morning to pass the budget reconciliation bill. The vote, which was supposed to take place a week ago, was extremely close due to the contentious nature of the radical cuts within the bill. The GOP leadership was able to cut just enough backroom deals to tip the scales in their favor.

All Democrats voted against the bill except for two (Leonard Boswell (IA) and Edolphus Towns (NY)) and 14 Republicans broke with their party to vote their conscience rather than capitulate to a radical agenda. Rep. Boswell was in the hospital recovering from surgery and Towns was reportedly in New York, for reasons which cannot be imagined on the eve of the most important vote of the entire year.

The 14 Republicans voting against the bill should be thanked and commended. They showed courage and integrity in the face of intense pressure. You can contact these representatives to applaud their decision by clicking on their names. They were:

Just a short while ago, the Senate approved by voice vote this morning an extension through December 17 of the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) did not object to the voice vote, but went on record as voting no on the CR to highlight the plight of many still recoverying from the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast. It is still unclear what this accomplished for the people of Gulf Coast.

This particular CR is especially egregious because it drastically reduces funding for many federal programs, particularly the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) attempted to include an amendment to the CR that would continue funding the CSBG at a higher level instead of it receiving a 50 percent cut. Despite support for full funding from 58 Senators on a letter Harkin circulated, only 46 voted for the amendment today.

After Republicans repeatedly painted their efforts to cut programs for low- and middle-income Americans on the floor of the House early this morning as necessary in order to bring down huge deficits (in fact, the bill was actually named "The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005"), those very same Republicans are turning around in less than 24 hours to consider more tax cuts for rich Americans that would actually increase the very same deficits they so reviled just a few hours earlier. This action is the ultimate hypocracy.

When Representatives have the audacity to cut health care, food and nutrition, child welfare, and education funding that ends up paying for more tax cuts for the wealthy in the same day, it's no wonder Americans have no faith in Congress.

Read more about the radical House agenda to take from the poor and give to the rich.

Posted by Adam Hughes, 09:32:31 AM



Fight For America's Priorities Loses In House

Late last night, GOP leaders in the House were able to strong-arm enough moderate Republicans to support their long-delaysed and radical spending cuts bill. The bill passed 217 - 215, with unanimous opposition from Democrats and Independents, and 14 Republicans.

OMB Watch Executive Director Gary Bass released the following statement after the vote:

The close vote in the House on the Budget Reconciliation bill signifies the wrong national priorities. In this vote, the conservatives cut spending for programs serving poor people and others of moderate income in order to pay for their continuing and seemingly unending thirst for providing more tax cuts to the wealthy.

Unfortunately, this vote also showcases how the House of Representatives has become captive to a radical minority of conservatives who are out of step with most of America. The end result of these reconciliation votes is an increased deficit, less support for those citizens struggling the most among us, and a significant step backwards for the progress of our country. If this is compassionate conservatism, then it's time for a change.

Washington Post: House Approves Spending Reductions

Both the House and the Senate are working late tonight, trying to pass budget and tax cut bills that have faced considerable obstacles over the last two weeks.

The Senate is currently voting on a long series of amendments to their version of the tax cut reconciliation bill approved by the Finance Committee yesterday. The House has just moved to consideration of their version of the spending cuts reconciliation bill. Both chambers are likely to be in session past midnight tonight before final votes on each bill.

Tune in here on the Budget Blog for up to date information and updates on the debates and votes on each of the bills.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) gave an exceptional floor speech this morning on the tax reconciliation bill. His speech highlighted one theme: paying for the tax cuts Or in general, government spending). Whether or not one agrees with cutting taxes, it is especially egregious for members of Congress (and the President) to be pushing through tax cuts and extensions year after year and, rather than propose a way to pay for this spending, simply tack it on to the deficit.

Conrad asked of the tax reconciliation bill, "Why shouldn't we prevent the debt from being deepened?" Revenue, in 2004, was at its lowest point as a share of GDP since 1959, and national debt has gone up over $1 trillion in five years. On top of this, baby boomers will soon be not only retiring in droves, but in need of medical care. As these costs are going up, Republican lawmakers seem unconcerned with pursuing any sort of fiscally responsible legislation. Sen. Conrad offered a substitute amendment to the tax reconciliation bill that was defeated 44-55.

It's been a busy day of voting on tax and budget issues in both the House and the Senate. Below are the highlights thus far:

Continuing Resolution Continued
The House voted 413-16 to extend the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through December 17. It was due to expire tomorrow. The CR is necessary for the government to be funded while Congress finishes work on the approps bills; however this particular CR egregriously underfunds programs. Read more about it here.

Labor-HHS Approps Bill Fails
The House did not pass the Labor-HHS appropriations bill discussed earlier on this blog. The vote failed 209-224, with all Democrats voting and 22 Republicans against the bill. It will now be sent back to conference, or the bill may be passed in an omnibus bill later this year.

The House Labor-HHS vote is a good sign that GOP moderates are standing up for the right priorities today, instead of voting with the leadership. The House is currently in recess right now because leadership still does not have the votes to pass the budget reconciliation bill. This bill has already been postponed once last week because of lack of support. The GOP is holding off and twisting arms until they can get the votes they need. According to the leadership they are still planning to hold the vote today, but that could change at any time.

Senators Decide They Like Deficits
On the other side of the Capitol today, Sen. Conrad's (D-ND) substitute amendment to the tax reconciliation bill was defeated. The Senate voted 44-55 against the amendment which would have extended only tax cuts that expire in 2005, expanded a one-year provision to decrease the effect of the alternative minimum tax on the middle class, and provided tax incentives for Gulf Coast rebuilding. Conrad's amendment would have also included offsets for these tax cuts so they would not increase the deficit. Unfortunately, Senators, including two Democrats, voted against fiscal responsibility when they voted against the Conrad substitute.

Both the House and Senate will be holding important votes today on reconciliation bills. The House Rules Committee met this morning at 7 AM and decided to bring the budget reconciliation measure to the floor today. It is still unclear whether the leadership has the votes to pass the $54 billion bill. This vote is extremely important, and lies in the hands of Republican moderates. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), chairman of the radically conservative Republican Study Committee, himself said that the "Republican revolution is over," if the House does not pass this reconciliation measure.

The Senate is also planning to vote today, however they will be voting on the tax reconciliation bill. After having been stalled in committee for about a week, Finance committee members agreed to a $60 billion bill that does not include rate extensions for capital gains or divendends. While this is good news, in the short term, we can assume that eventually this provision will be stuck back in during conference negotiations.

This afternoon the House will vote on the FY 2006 Labor/Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Conference Report. The conference report, in total, cuts labor, education, health care, and human services by $1.5 billion compared to FY 2005 levels. Below is a detailed summary of the conference agreement, as well as a chart with the amounts being spent on various programs, and how those amounts compare to both the President's request and FY 2005 levels.

The conference agreement freezes or cuts most programs below their FY 2005 levels, including the following:

OMB Watch has published an op-ed, "The Ultimate Special Interest," in today's issue of tompaine.com. The op-ed delves into the details behind today's House vote on the budget reconciliation measure. The bill not only includes "draconian cuts" to human needs services, but when taken with the reconciliation tax bill it actually raises the deficit, completely defeating the GOP's argument that the bill is needed in order to combat massive spending.

Late last night House GOP leaders removed language from the budget reconciliation bill on both drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and allowing for offshore oil drilling. Both provisions were widely opposed by House GOP moderates, and the move was made in an effort to pick up votes for the bill, which cuts mandatory spending by $54 billion over the next five years. The provisions were stripped after pressure from the moderates, twenty-six of whom sent a letter to the leadership November 8, arguing their position.

Even though ANWR and offshore drilling were removed from the bill, the future is uncertain. A number of Republican House members oppose other contentious provisions in the bill, such as the proposed Medicaid cuts or the repeal of the Byrd amendment. And the House may also run into trouble with the Senate on ANWR matters in conference. A number of Republican senators, such as Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pete Domenici of New Mexico have noted that ANWR drilling is by far the most important provision in the bill, and thus leaving it out of the House bill sets up a potential battle with the Senate.

The Rules Committee also made an exceedingly slight change to the food stamp immigrant provision, which is being dubbed a "fix." In reality it is anything but this. The House budget bill still contains large and damaging food stamp cuts. Tens of thousands of children will lose free school meals, and much of the cost will shift to states, adding administrative complexity and client confusion. The minor exemptions added by Rules do little to ameliorate the harsh impact that CBO originally estimated for the House Agriculture Committee immigrant cuts ($275 million over five years, cutting 70,000 legal immigrants in an average month).

Rep. Boehlert is one member of the House who has the right idea about the budget reconciliation bill -- he opposes the bill because of the ANWR language and because it shows a "disconnect" by trimming spending on low-income programs, only to set the stage for tax cuts for the wealthy.

Boehlert, apparently, had tbis to say to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL): "I told [him] I'm against euthanasia and I'm against human cloning." "He said, 'What do you mean?' I told him I'm against euthanasia because this could mean the orderly demise of our Republican majority. And I'm against human cloning because you're trying to recreate [our party] in the image of one sector" of the party. Many moderate Republicans are standing up against the extreme conservatives in their party who are trying to push contentious and harmful budget cuts in the reconciliation bill. Let's hope that their votes add up tomorrow.

The House will be voting tomorrow on the $54 billion budget reconciliation measure. The vote is expected to be close, as a number of moderate Republicans have voiced their concerns over cutting Medicaid, including the ANWR provision, and/or not effectively cutting the deficit by passing the bill along with a proposed tax reconciliation measure. All Democrats are opposed to the bill.

You need to call your representatives today and talk to them about voting against the budget reconciliation bill. You can reach them by calling 1-800-426-8073.

Even if you know your representative is voting against the bill, please let them know that you support their vote. If your representative is one of the many moderate Republicans who oppose including ANWR in the bill, let them know that even if ANWR is stripped, it is likely to be included once the bill goes through conference with the Senate. We have a chance to stop the budget reconciliation bill, and your calls today are an extremely important part of the fight. To read more about the House budget reconciliation bill, see this latest Watcher article, "Service Cuts for the Poor to Finance Tax Cuts for the Rich," and this NY Times editorial, "Congress's Sham Budget Savings."

Grassley's $68.8 billion tax package will face tough opposition in the Senate Finance Committee, and there is a chance the measure will be stalled in committee due to the opposition of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Snowe specifically objects to the extension of the tax cut in dividends, and views the inclusion, along with other Democrats, as unnecessary.

If Snowe votes with the Democrats, the measure will stall in committee. Ranking member Max Baucus (D-MT) said he doubts Grassley has the votes to approve the package.

New York Times: Tax Proposal By G.O.P. Would cut $70 Billion (11.9.2005)

Today the Finance Committee released the Description of the Chairman's Mark of the "Tax Relief Act of 2005," which is scheduled for markup November 10. The proposal outlines nearly $7 billion in tax benefits for businesses and individuals in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

The $7 billion in tax cuts is part of the larger, $69 billion reconciliation tax package that Chairman Grassley is hoping will be passed in the next two weeks. The reconciliation tax bill also:

The entire tax package is approximately $8.6 billion above the $60.2 billion limit on the amount of tax cuts protected from filibuster under budget reconciliation rules. According to CongressDaily, however, Grassley reiterated today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that he believes the Senate would defeat a point of order against the reconciliation bill as long as its cost is not more than $60 billion above the amount of hurricane relief.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has done something many of us wish Senators would do more often -- propose to tell the truth. Lautenberg has filed an amendment to change the official name of the "Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act 2005" to the "Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act."

Lautenberg said "Let's call this bill what it is -- a moral disaster." And that it certainly is. His amendment probably won't pass, but I think many of us appreciate his attempt to call the bill as it is, as opposed to trying to disguise it as an attempt at fiscal responsibility.

Speaking of morals, religious leaders descended on Capitol Hill yesterday to express their indignation over proposed cuts in the budget, and four found themselves face to face with Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL), whom they engaged in conversation (or as witnesses said, "gave him an earful"). The clergy lost no time telling the Speaker that the proposed $35 billion to $50 billion in cuts to social programs was immoral.

They said, "Congress has been actively targeting the poor and the middle class since the hurricane. At the very time when the Congress should have been increasing the number of social programs, we find they have decimated them. It is simply morally unjustifiable." They also quoted the Bible, and suggested Congress was in the position of asking Jesus, "when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?" They then told Hastert that Congress is not taking care of the 37 million people below the poverty line. According to witnesses, Hastert responded with "grunts and comments" to the clergy's questions, but pictures indicate he was calm and gracious.

E.J. Dionne Jr. has written a scathing op-ed blasting lawmakers - particularly in the House - for "proclaim[ing] their desire to encourage hard work, personal responsibility and family values," but then going against these stated principles by "pushing a budget that... is a direct assault on ... hard work, personal responsibility and family values."

As Dionne points out, the cuts proposed by House Republican leaders would hurt programs that provide food stamps, child care assistance, child support enforcement, foster care, and Medicaid. So many politicians are quoted in the media discussing the "hard choices" they have to make to cut the deficit. But in reality, these reconciliation bills don't do anything to cut the deficit because they also cut taxes. As Dionne says, "A hard choice for them would be to cut tax pork, that dizzying list of "tax incentives" they have showered on oil companies and investors, and to halt the repeal of the inheritance tax on large fortunes."

The lawmakers working on the budget as we speak cannot call themselves fiscally responsible until they make some real hard choices -- that is, ending the flow of tax breaks for the wealthy that are pushing this country deep into debt and giving Republicans a cover to cut both entitlement and discretionary spending. Anything less than ending the onslaught of tax cuts (federal spending in disguise) is simply a front at fiscal responsibility.

The op-ed, House Mollycoddles The Rich, appeared in today's Sacramento Bee.

The Senate approved a slightly amended budget reconciliation spending bill this evening by a vote of 52 - 47. The Senate considered 20 amendments throughout the day and adopted three of them before the vote on final passage. The bill would cut $39.1 billion from entitlement spending.

Realizing the cuts within the bill represent the wrong priorities for the country, five Republicans voted against the final bill (DeWine, Chafee, Collins, Coleman, and Snowe). These Senators should be commended for the integrity and courage it took to vote down this bill against their party leadership and thanked for their votes.

Two Democrats voted in favor of the bill - Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA) and Sen. Ben Nelson (NE). Along with the citizens in the states of the other 50 Republicans who supported the measure, the constituents of these two Democratic Senators should demand an explaination of their votes.

The House will consider their version of the budget resolution on the floor next week.

Today the House Budget Committee passed a $53.9 billion reconciliation bill to cut spending. The Committee approved the bill 21-16, and it will most likely go to the floor next week. The House approved a bill even though it contains a provision - long favored by conservatives - to split in half the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in San Francisco, CA.

The language was inserted by Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), and was only discovered this morning by ranking member John Spratt (D-SC). The provision will most likely run into stiff opposition in the Senate, and if it survives conference it could be subject to the Byrd Rule point of order on extraneous provisions, which would take 60 votes to overturn. Powerful Republicans have tried to insert the measure into omnibus budget bills in the past, and have not succeeded.

It appears House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) may not include a temporary alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch this year to protect 14 million people from paying the tax. An AMT one-year fix will not fit in the reconciliation package along with an extension of capital gains and dividends, which has a cost of roughly $21 billion over two years. An AMT fix, on the other hand, would cost about $30 billion.

Thomas' wavering comes as moderate Republicans are voicing their concerns on passing both tax cuts and spending cuts in the same reconciliation package. Moderates have pushed Thomas to scale back the tax bill, which has generally been assumed to total $70 billion over five years. There is a chance an AMT fix could pass outside of reconciliation, however, Thomas noted that he may wait until next year's debate on comprehensive tax overhaul to address that issue. "Would it make sense to soften the blow right before you're trying to look at a change in structure to deal with that very issue, or might it not help the momentum on tax reform if a few more people fully understood the impacts of AMT?" he said.

Associated Press: House's Top Tax Writer Weighing Charges

Posted by Becky Lewis, 11:53:04 AM

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Tuesday, November 01, 2005