 | |||
| Publications | Issue List | Vote Analysis | Main Page |
| April 17, 2002 | |||
"Senate Dems Stymied on Budget" (1)
27 Years of Fiscal Restraint Endangered Senator Dodd: "We'll probably go straight to the appropriations bills. We're probably not going to have a budget resolution. That's what I'm told."
- The Hill, April 17, 2002
It is becoming apparent that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will not call up a budget resolution prior to starting this year's appropriations process, and maybe not at all. This failure to produce an outline of spending priorities would be unprecedented - never before in the modern budget era has the Senate failed to produce a budget.
This failure threatens our ability to control federal spending at a time when we are at war, the economy is unsteady, and the budget is on the verge of returning to deficits for the first time in four years. It also builds upon a whole series of legislative failures that call into question the ability of Democrat leadership to run the Senate.
Twenty-Seven Years of Success
The Budget Act of 1974 created the process by which Congress would make and enforce the fiscal priorities of the federal government. In the 27 years since the Budget Act took effect, the United States Senate has always managed to produce a budget. This institution has produced budgets under both Republican and Democratic leaderships. It has produced budgets when the annual deficit exceeded $300 billion and when the surplus was over $200 billion.
Fiscal Year Budget Chairman Senate Majority Leader 1976-77 Edmund Muskie (D-ME) Mike Mansfield (D-MT) 1977-81 Edmund Muskie (D-ME) Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) 1982-85 Pete Domenici (R-NM) Howard H. Baker, Jr. (R-TN) 1986-87 Pete Domenici (R-NM) Bob Dole (R-KS) 1988-89 Lawton Chiles Jr. (D-FL) Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) 1990-95 James Sasser (D-TN) George J. Mitchell (D-ME) 1996-97 Pete Domenici (R-NM) Bob Dole (R-KS)/Trent Lott (R-MS) 1998-01 Pete Domenici (R-NM) Trent Lott (R-MS) 2002 Kent Conrad, (D-ND) Thomas A. Daschle (D-SD) That's a successful string of 27 years that now is jeopardized by the inability of Senate Democrats to a) agree among themselves on the spending priorities of the federal government and/or b) reach across the aisle to any Republicans to craft a bipartisan approach. (2)
What Does This Failure Lead To? - More Spending
This year's budget impasse coincides with the expiration of the budget enforcement provisions, including the statutory spending caps and "paygo" provisions, established by the Budget Enforcement Act. While these provisions have not been foolproof, they have had a measurable impact on controlling federal spending. As the Congressional Budget Office observed earlier this year, "Despite recent experience, however, the underlying philosophy of the Budget Enforcement Act . . . has proved to be effective in the past." These provisions established a statutory barrier to excessive spending. Their absence makes it all the more critical that we adopt a budget resolution.
How will the failure of Democrats to produce a budget affect spending decisions this year? The budget resolution establishes a cap on total annual discretionary spending, enforced through a 60-vote point of order. (3) No budget resolution, no cap. When the Senate considers appropriations bills this year, any amendment to increase spending, regardless of its impact on the deficit (or the Social Security surplus, for that matter) can be adopted by a simple majority. Given Congress's historical bias towards excessive deficit spending, that could be devastating for American taxpayers.
A Model of Success
The reason Senator Daschle is dragging his feet is simple - he doesn't have the votes. The budget produced by Senator Conrad not only failed to attract any Republican support, it also failed to consolidate Democrats. At least three - Senators Byrd, Hollings, and Feingold - have indicated they will not support the Conrad budget, as reported, on the Senate floor.
What's interesting about Daschle's dilemma is that the makeup of the Senate this year is exactly the same as last year. While the party affiliation of one member has changed - in his favor - nothing else has.
With this same membership, Republicans last year produced a bipartisan budget supported by 65 Senators - including 15 Democrats. (4) That budget accommodated the spending and tax priorities of the same members who now are refusing to support Senator Conrad's effort.
"Deadlocked Before We Even Start"
There is a certain degree of poetic justice attached to the Democrats' inability to produce a budget. Just last year, Senator Conrad led the criticism against then-Chairman Domenici's decision to bypass the Budget Committee and bring his resolution directly to the floor. At the time, Senator Conrad stated:
I end by urging the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to have a markup in the committee to establish a budget for the country for the coming year. We have that responsibility. The suggestion that we are deadlocked before we even start misses the point. We are often deadlocked before we debate and discuss and vote. That is why we have debate, discussion, and votes - to break deadlocks. I hope very much that the Budget Committee will meet its responsibility and attempt to write a budget resolution. That is our obligation. I hope we will meet it.
[Congressional Record, 3/26/01]
As previously noted, Senator Domenici successfully moved last year's budget resolution through a closely-divided Senate with bipartisan support. It was his twelfth budget resolution. Senator Conrad, on the other hand, has yet to produce one.
1. Headline, page 1, The Hill, April 17, 2002 In every year but one, 1998, the Senate has also adopted a budget resolution conference report agreed to by House and Senate budget conferees. That year, the House and Senate adopted a deeming resolution that established discretionary spending limits for both House and Senate appropriators. So-called 302(a) spending caps. Once the 302(a) level is established, the Appropriations Committee divides this money among the 13 subcommittees, creating the 302(b) allocations which are also enforced through 60-vote Budget Act points of order. H. Con Res. 83, passed April 6, 2001. Democrat Senators in support: Baucus, Bayh, Breaux, Carnahan, Carper, Cleland, Edwards, Feinstein, Johnson, Kohl, Landrieu, Lincoln, Miller, Ben Nelson, Torricelli. The tax bill that Senators Daschle and Conrad have repeatedly criticized was also a bipartisan effort, with 12 Democrats joining 46 Republicans in support.
Top Publications Issue List Vote Analysis Main Page