While the House passed earmark disclosure provisions in its initial rules package in January, a stronger proposal for earmark disclosure passed by the Senate as part of a larger lobbying and ethics reform bill has languished for months. Despite the delay, recent rumors of possible action on the companion House ethics and lobbying reform bill have renewed hope the stronger Senate language on earmarks will eventually be adopted in both chambers.

In the final weeks of March, the House and Senate adopted budget resolutions for Fiscal Year 2008 by narrow margins and will now turn to the task of finding a compromise resolution in conference committee. The two $2.9 trillion budget plans are broadly similar — both seek to reach a budget surplus by the year 2012, establish reserve funds to extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to all eligible children, and embrace pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) principles.

On March 15, the Senate Budget Committee approved a $2.9 billion budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2008 on a 12-11 party-line vote. The full Senate is expected to take up the measure on March 20, with 50 hours of debate, votes on numerous amendments, and a final vote scheduled before the end of the week. The House Budget Committee is set to mark up its own budget resolution, with floor action likely the week of March 26. (Click here for links to resolution summary and details.)

The 110th Congress is barely two months old, but several lawmakers have introduced proposals to create "entitlement commissions" that would be charged with formulating policies to address projected long-term fiscal challenges in Social Security and Medicare. The plans have surfaced just as there are increasing concerns on Capitol Hill about the fiscal gap — that is, the amount of spending reduction or tax increases needed to keep the national debt as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) at or below the current ratio. There are currently three plans: