There is not much to report this week of interest to NAHMA regarding House and Senate floor activity.
At the committee level, both the House and Senate Budget Committees prepared their respective “budget resolutions.” The budget resolution is a blueprint that sets broad parameters for spending and tax measures. It is used to guide Congress in tax and spending limits. The budget resolution does NOT establish spending limits on a program-by-program basis. It is NOT a public law, and therefore, does not require the President’s signature.
A summary of House Budget Committee Chairman’s budget plan can be found at https://www.house.gov/budget/04markoverview.pdf. A concern with this plan is its call to cut non-defense and non-homeland security discretionary AND mandatory spending (which include our programs) by 1% below the enacted FY 03 levels. Supplementary information https://www.house.gov/budget/wtbtpreduction.htm suggests this 1% across the board reduction would be offered up by authorizing committees, and would not have to be done on a program-by-program basis. It assumes most of the Bush tax cut plan such as making the 2001 tax cuts permanent and repealing taxes on corporate dividends.
On the Senate side, a summary of the budget resolution proposed by Budget Committee Chairman Nickles can be found at https://www.senate.gov/~budget/republican/pressarchive/2004-Mark.pdf. It closely follows the Administration’s 2004 budget request.
The Committees have approved their resolutions on party line votes, and now each chamber must approve them. The resolutions will likely be debated in the House and Senate early next week. Differences between the House and Senate resolutions will be worked out in a conference committee.
An interesting dynamic is emerging in that some Republican moderates are beginning to state public opposition to the size of the Bush tax cut. At least two Senators (Snowe and Voinovich) have ruled out voting for any actual tax package costs more than $350 billion over ten years, unless those tax cuts are paid for; but they have not ruled out voting for a budget resolution that calls for a large tax cut. Concern is also being voiced by House Republicans in swing districts.
Finally, hearings will continue on the 2004 budget request for HUD on March 19 in the House VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee. If you would like to view the written testimony on HUD’s 2004 budget request previously delivered by Secretary Martinez, please see https://www.hud.gov/offices/cir/test2003.cfm.