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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
DAILY FISCAL POLICY REPORT -- April 8, 2008
Budget Resolution -- Blue Dogs Say PAYGO or No-Go: In an April 4 letter to the House and Senate Budget Committee Chairs and ranking members, 26 deficit-hawk Blue Dog Democrats said that a budget resolution must "include deficit-neutral AMT relief through reconciliation language and any stimulus package be fully offset [or it] will meet our firm opposition on the House Floor." Given the five-vote margin of victory for the House resolution last month, a defection by 26 Democrats would almost certainly doom the prospects for an FY 2009 budget resolution.
Taxes/Ways & Means -- End of Private Tax Collection?: The House Ways & Means Committee will consider legislation - the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act - that would end the private tax collection program. National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson estimates that the program not only lacks transparency, but instead of raising revenue, actually costs the Treasury $81 million annually.
Federal Contracting -- Oversight Loophole Wastes Billions: The Bush administration has delayed delivering documents to Congress explaining how a multibillion-dollar loophole exempting overseas work from scrutiny was slipped into a rule intended to crack down on fraud in government contracts. A House panel will hear April 15 from administration officials about the loophole, which drew protests from Democrats and Republican lawmakers alike and been disavowed by Attorney General Mukasey. Story.
Posted by Dana Chasin
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