This Week in Congress 3.10.08 - 3.14.08

Budget

The Senate and the House will debate fiscal year 2009 budget resolutions this week.

The House takes up its resolution on Wednesday. House conservatives oppose the resolution because it provides $22 billion, or 1 percent, more domestic discretionary spending than President Bush’s budget. Conservatives are therefore expected to offer a substitute amendment highlighting their priorities, including extending President Bush’s tax cuts and a provision to restrict earmarks. The Congressional Black Caucus and the Progressive Caucus will both offer substitute amendments as well. None of the substitute amendments are expected to pass.

The Senate will begin debate on its budget resolution Monday afternoon. Special Senate rules make the budget resolution immune from a filibuster and require 50 hours of debate. Conservatives are expected to use amendments to highlight opposition to earmarks and their support for extending President Bush’s tax cuts and increasing war funding. All votes will be postponed until Thursday, creating a marathon voting session ending in a vote on final passage of the budget resolution Thursday evening.

For more information on the Center’s policy solutions for the budget, see:

• Responsible Investment: Budget and Fiscal Policy Plan for Progressive Growth
• Nussle’s Revenge: Bush Budget Director Strikes at State and Local Governments, by Scott Lilly

FISA & Intelligence Authorization 

President Bush vetoed the Intelligence Authorization bill Saturday because of language that would require intelligence agencies to follow the Army Field Manuel when conducting interrogations. The House is expected to hold a veto override vote sometime this week.

The House will also be pressured to bring the Senate-passed FISA bill to the floor for a vote this week with its two-week recess looming ahead. The House is still unable to reach a compromise on how to deal with retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies; if a compromise is made, there could be a vote to authorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act this week.

For more information on the Center’s policy solutions for FISA, see:

• Playing Politics with Intelligence, by Mark Agrast
• Safeguarding Liberty and Security Under FISA, Morton Halperin's Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee

Iraq

Funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will take a role in both the House and Senate’s budget fights this week. Conservatives want to increase funding to $170 billion for FY 2009 from the $70 billion in the president’s budget. Congressional leadership says that the $70 billion in funding reflects their priority of redeploying troops out of Iraq.

For more information on the Center’s policy solutions for Iraq, see:

• Strategic Reset: Reclaiming Control of U.S. Security in the Middle East, by Brian Katulis, Lawrence J. Korb, and Peter Juul
• How to Redeploy: Implementing a Responsible Drawdown of U.S. Forces from Iraq, by Lawrence J. Korb, Max Bergmann, Sean Duggan, Peter Juul