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Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Watcher: September 12, 2007
Nussle Approved as Budget Head, Faces Task of Completing FY 2008 Budget
In the Senate's first vote following the August recess, former Rep. Jim Nussle (R-IA) was confirmed as director of the Office and Management and Budget
(OMB), 69-24, with all Republican senators voting in favor of Nussle and the Democrats split down the middle. Notably, Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Appropriations Committee Chair Robert Byrd (D-WV), and Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-ND) voted against the
nominee. Nussle's approval sets up what is expected to be a bitter struggle to complete work on the FY 2008 budget during the fall.
Continuing Resolution a Virtual Certainty; Congress Continues to Work for Appropriations Passage
A plethora of veto threats and the Senate's dithering over spending legislation have combined to all but guarantee the necessity of enacting a
continuing resolution before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated that a continuing
resolution will likely fund government operations for weeks, not months, time is not their only obstacle. Although it remains unclear how long it
will take the Senate to complete its appropriations work, congressional leaders will also have to formulate a strategy to overcome President Bush's veto
threats to see their spending priorities ultimately enacted.
Carried Interest Issue Gets Full Hearing(s) in Congress
On Sept. 6, the carried interest tax loophole took center stage, featuring a
four-panel, 20-witness marathon hearing in the House
Ways and Means Committee and the third hearing this year on the topic in the Senate Finance Committee. The day before the hearings, over 300 national, state and local nonprofit organizations sent a letter to Congress urging it to close the loophole in order to bring
equity to the tax code.
Census Report Shows Working Americans Falling Behind
The U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report, Income, Poverty, and
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2006 on Aug. 28. The report, which covers the most recent Current Population Survey (CPS) data,
showed slight overall improvement in income and poverty, but continued declining rates of health insurance coverage. The headline numbers — a 0.7
percent increase in median household income and a 0.3 percent decline in poverty — are undermined, however, by the underlying story that middle- and
low-income working Americans are not seeing substantial gains from the current economy.
Americans Dislike Rising Inequality, Contrary to Popular Belief
It is commonly assumed that Americans do not oppose increasing inequality. However, this belief may be a misinterpretation of American values and policy preferences.
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