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Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Overview: the Budget Resolution Conference Agreement
For overviews of the budget resolution compromise package announced late this morning by the House and Senate Budget Committees, see:
As the press release indicates, "[t]he full Senate and House are each expected to pass the fiscal year 2008 budget resolution this week."
Some of the key provisions in the agreement that had been amoung the most heavily negotiated include:
- Discretionary Spending Caps: The agreement provides $954 billion for discretionary programs in fiscal 2008, $21 billion over the president's request, with significant increases in funding for children's health, education, and veterans' health care.
- PAYGO Rules/"Trigger": Under the agreement, revenue legislation is subject to House and Senate Pay-As-You-Go rules, and a House-only "trigger" mechanism to ensure fiscal responsibility. The House "trigger" mechanism limits tax cuts to 80 percent of the projected surplus in 2012, if OMB's July 2010 estimates confirm such a projection.
- Tax Provisions: The agreement endorses middle-class tax relief, including extending marriage penalty relief, the child tax credit, and the 10 percent bracket subject to the PAYGO rule; it also provides a one-year AMT patch.
- Long-Term Debt Reduction: The agreement also creates a Senate point of order against legislation that increases the deficit in the four decades beyond the next ten years (2018-2027, 2028-2037, 2038-2047, and 2048-2057) by over $5 billion during those decades.
Posted by Dana Chasin
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