ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 14, Number 25
March 18, 2005

In This Issue: BUDGET UPDATE: HOUSE AND SENATE PASS DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF BUDGET RESOLUTION

Prior to their adjournment for a two-week recess, both the House and the Senate passed their respective budget resolutions yesterday, but remain far apart as they enter conference negotiations.

Late last night the U.S. Senate adopted its budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 18), 51-49, after a long and unpredictable day of voting.  

In a surprise victory for Democrats and many in the education community, Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., won an amendment that would raise the discretionary spending limit by $5.4 billion to $848.8 billion.  Among other things, the amendment restored the President's proposed cuts to job training/adult literacy ($975 million) and vocational education ($1.327 billion).

The House adopted its own budget blueprint (H.Con.Res. 95), which calls for $69 billion in entitlement cuts, on a 218-214 vote, after Republicans beat back Democratic amendments. The House resolution calls for discretionary spending of $893 billion in FY 2006, including $50 billion to cover the costs of operations in Iraq. When the $50 billion is subtracted from the total, discretionary spending drops to $843 billion, equal to the level in the president's budget.

The House rejected an amendment by Wisconsin Rep. David R. Obey (D-WI), the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, that would have increased fiscal 2006 spending levels by $15.8 billion, instructed the Ways and Means Committee to find tax increases - targeted at those who earn more than $1 million annually - of $25.8 billion in fiscal 2006 and reduced the resolution's deficit level by $10 billion.
The spending increases were targeted at a variety of programs including education, veterans and health care. The amendment failed on a mostly party-line vote, 180-242.
The House also rejected, 165-264, a Democratic substitute amendment offered by South Carolina Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee.  Spratt's amendment did not include the cuts to mandatory spending programs envisioned by the GOP budget and would have increased funding levels for a variety of functions, including education, veterans and community and regional development programs. 
The congressional budget resolution is a blueprint that outlines Congress's spending priorities for the year and dictates the amount of spending the Appropriations Committee is allowed to allocate for specific departments and programs like LSTA and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries.
For more information, please visit ALA's website at: http://www.ala.org/

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