During an event entitled "The Future America Can't Afford" last Monday, U.S. Comptroller General David Walker continued his harsh criticism of Congress' poor stewardship of the government's fiscal health. The event was sponsored by the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, and the National Press Foundation.

Walker opened the event by urging Congress to reconsider the extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts in light of the current fiscal environment. "We can’t afford to make all the tax cuts permanent,” Walker said. He also supported the reinstatement of true pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rules and an automatic disclosure of the long-term costs of proposed spending and tax legislation in order to ensure an honest and transparent debate in Congress. These are both excellent ideas and should have been in place long ago in Congress.

Luckily for the Senate, they will have the opportunity to enact those very budget control measures this week as Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Kent Conrad (D-ND) has offered an amendment to the budget reconciliation that would reinstitute true PAYGO rules. These rules were rejected by the narrowest of margins this past March when Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) offered them as an amendment to the original budget resolution agreement.

Although it is the intention of Senate leaders to finish work on the spending bills as well as other must-pass legislation by Nov. 18 (the date they are slated to recess as well as the date the continuing resolution expires), it remains to be seen whether or not this is possible. Progress continues though, with lawmakers saying they expect action soon on a number of final conference reports.

Late in the day yesterday conferees completed work on the $20.9 billion Foreign Operations spending bill. The House and Senate will vote on the measure by the end of this week. Lawmakers are also were hopeful that conferees on the Energy and Water spending bill would agree upon a funding level for the Army Corps of Engineers soon in order for a final bill to be voted on before Nov. 4. Conferees on the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs and the Science, State, Justice, and Commerce appropriations bills are expected to be named soon. Finally, Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) told reporters that conferees on the Defense bill plan to meet early this friday to hopefully agree on a measure that would permit lawmakers to sign off soon on the massive bill and get needed funding to the Pentagon by mid-November.