Chief Deputy Whip
Rep. Diana DeGette
DeGette is a fourth generation Coloradoan, educated at Denver's South High School and Colorado College. Read More...

The Daily WhipLine

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

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Floor Schedule and Procedure

• H. Res. 1036–Rule providing for consideration of H. Con. Res. 312 – Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY 2009 (Rep. McGovern-Rules):   The structured rule provides four hours of general debate with three hours equally divided and controlled by the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on the Budget and one hour on the subject of economic goals and policies equally divided and controlled by Representative Maloney of New York and Representative Saxton of New Jersey or their designees.  The rule provides that the concurrent resolution shall be considered for amendment under the five minute rule and that the concurrent resolution shall be considered as read.  The rule permits the Chairman of the Budget Committee to offer amendments in the House to achieve mathematical consistency.  The rule provides that after the motion that the Committee rise has been rejected on a legislative day, the Chair may entertain another such motion on that day only if offered by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget or the Majority Leader and that after a motion to strike out the resolving words of the bill has been rejected, the Chair may not entertain another such motion during further consideration of the bill.  The rule provides for a motion to take the Senate concurrent resolution on the budget from the table, strike all after the resolving clause, and to insert in lieu thereof the provisions of House Concurrent Resolution 312 as adopted by the House.  Debate on the rule will be managed by Rep. McGovern, and consideration will proceed as follows:
  • One hour of debate on the rule.
  • Possible vote on a Democratic Motion ordering the previous question. Democrats are urged to vote yes.
  • Vote on adoption of the rule. Democrats are urged to vote yes.
    
    
• H. Con. Res. 312 – Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY 2009 (Rep. Spratt-Budget): Pursuant to the rule, debate on the bill will be managed by Budget Committee Chair Rep. John Spratt, or his designee, for three hours and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, or her designee, for one hour, and will proceed as follows:
  • Four hours of debate on the resolution.
  • Debate and votes on amendments to the resolution.
  • Vote on adoption of the resolution.  Members are urged to vote Yes on adoption of the resolution.
    
    
• Suspension Bills: Today, the House will consider several bills on the Suspension calendar.  Bills considered on the Suspension calendar are debatable for 40 minutes; may not be amended; and require a two-thirds vote for passage.  If a recorded vote is requested, it will be postponed.
  
  
  1. H.R. 5578 – Short-term Farm Bill Extension (Rep. Peterson – Agriculture Committee)
     
     
  2. H.R. 3361 - To make technical corrections related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Rep. Rangel – Ways and Means)
     
     
  3. H.Res. 991 - Recognizing the exceptional sacrifice of the 69th Infantry Regiment, known as the Fighting 69th, in support of the Global War on Terror (Rep. Israel – Armed Services)
     
     
  4. H.Res. 953 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that all Americans should participate in a moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of members of the United States Armed Forces both at home and abroad, and their families (Rep. Knollenberg – Armed Services)
     
     
• Postponed Suspension Votes: At some point today, the House will take votes on the following Suspension bills, which were debated on Tuesday:
  
  
  1. H.Res.936 – Honoring the 200th anniversary of the Gallatin Report on Roads and Canals, celebrating the national unity the Gallatin Report engendered, and recognizing the vast contributions that national planning efforts have provided to the United States (Rep. Blumenauer – Transportation and Infrastructure)
     
     
  2. H.R. 5563 – Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act (Rep. McCarthy (NY) – Education and Labor)
     
     
  3. S. 2733 - To temporarily extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Sen. Kennedy – Education and Labor)

Bill Summary and Key Issues

H.CON. RES. 312  – CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE BUDGET THAT FUNDS CRITICAL PRIORITIES

Fiscal Responsibility
The budget is fiscally responsible, returning to balance in 2012.  The budget resolution complies with the House pay-as-you-go rule that requires all mandatory spending and revenue provisions to be deficit-neutral.  The budget resolution also provides reconciliation protection for a repair of the Alternative Minimum Tax that is fully paid for.  The budget contains initiatives to crack down on wasteful spending, and its deficit-neutral reserve funds will ensure that new initiatives are offset by reductions in lower priority spending.  The budget relies on realistic economic assumptions from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Rejecting the President’s Harmful Cuts
The budget rejects the President’s deep cuts affecting a wide range of services and constituencies, including the following:

• $479 billion of Medicare cuts and $94 billion in cuts to Medicaid over ten years;
  
  
• more than $18 billion over five years in new fees for veterans and military retirees;
  
  
• a six percent cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a 16 percent cut to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which provides health care access to under-served populations;
  
  
• the elimination of several state and local law enforcement programs, including the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, Byrne Grants, and COPS; and
  
  
• cutting the Environmental Protection Agency, in large part through cuts to grants that help protect public health and maintain environmental quality;
  
  
• a cut to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), despite record-high energy costs;
  
  
• a $500 million cut to the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) and a significant cut to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG);
  
  
• cuts to surface transportation levels below the authorized levels and a cut to Amtrak;
  
  
• cuts to numerous other important services, including rural development programs.

Rebuilding America’s Future
This budget is another down payment to fulfill commitments we have made to the American people.  The budget rejects the President’s misguided budget, instead investing in proven programs that boost economic growth, create jobs, make America safer, promote fiscally responsible tax relief to millions of households, and help families struggling to make ends meet in an economic downturn.

Strengthens the Economy

• Innovation — Provides crucial funding for the Democratic innovation agenda and the America COMPETES act to enhance our competitive edge, increasing funding for math and science education and research.
  
  
• Energy — Increases funding for efficient and renewable energy programs, rejecting the President’s cuts to research as well as weatherization assistance for lower-income families, and accommodates legislation to encourage the production of renewable energy alternatives, increased energy efficiency, investments in new energy and vehicle technologies, and training workers for “green collar” jobs.
  
  
• Education — Provides substantially more than the President for the education budget function, which also includes job training programs.
  
  
• Infrastructure — Invests in highways, water, and other infrastructure by providing sufficient funding as well as a reserve fund that can facilitate priority new initiatives in a deficit neutral manner.

Provides Tax Relief and Help for Struggling Families
The budget rejects the President’s policy of paying for tax cuts by adding to the debt burden of our children and grandchildren, and by imposing unacceptable cuts to programs, such as $150 billion of Medicare cuts and more than $18 billion over five years in new fees for veterans and military retirees.

• Tax Relief — Accommodates tax relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax for more than 20 million households, as well as middle-income tax cuts and other tax relief, so long as they comply with the pay-as-you-go rule.  Tax cuts that could be accommodated include: extension of the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, extension of the 10 percent individual income bracket, elimination of most estate taxes, extension of the research and experimentation tax credit, extension of the deduction for state and local taxes, and a tax credit for school construction bonds.
  
  
• Children’s Health — Accommodates a $50 billion increase to expand children’s health insurance to cover millions of uninsured children, in accordance with the pay-as-you-go rule.
  
  
• Safety Net — Strengthens safety net programs by providing needed funding for home heating assistance, the Social Services Block Grant, and housing aid – in contrast to the President’s budget, which cuts funding for these programs.

Makes America Safer

• Defense — provides funding for national defense while shifting funding to target high priorities including cooperative threat reduction, nuclear nonproliferation efforts, and quality of life issues for the troops and their families.
  
  
• Veterans — Addresses veterans’ needs by rejecting the President’s proposed new fees and increasing health care funding well above the amount needed to maintain current services –enough to allow VA to treat 5.8 million patients in 2009, including 333,275 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
  
  
• Homeland Security — Protects our homeland, rejecting the President’s cuts to first responder programs – including Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and firefighter assistance grants – and providing more funding than the President’s budget for the four budget functions that contain the bulk of non-DOD homeland security funding.

ANTICIPATED AMENDMENTS TO H.CON. RES. 312  – CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

Kilpatrick (MI)/Scott, Robert (VA):  Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute.  The substitute amendment, submitted on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus, seeks an alternative budget that balances the budget in FY 2012. The CBC budget funds programs and services in the areas of health care, education, veterans benefits and services for low-income families. It also provides for additional services for the administration of justice and funds the recommendations of the House Committee on Homeland Security. (1 hour)

Lee (CA):  Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute.  The substitute amendment from the Congressional Progressive Caucus provides at least $551.7 billion for domestic, non-military discretionary spending in FY09; provides a $118.9 billion economic stimulus package; extends unemployment insurance, food stamp benefits, and Medicaid payments to states; and, spends $468.3 billion on defense. The Progressive Caucus budget balances by FY12 and rebalances again in FY18, upon completion of our Reinvest and Rebuild America Initiative. (1 hour)

Ryan, Paul (WI):  Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute.  (1 hour)

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