The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is arguing that repealing the tax cuts would be good for the economy. Bush & Co. like to claim that the tax cuts are magic, and that failing to extend them will be a disaster for the economy. They're wrong, and it's great that CBPP is pointing this out.

Some 21,000 health professional who participate in Medicare owe more than $1.3 billion in backtaxes, the NYT reports today. All the money would have been recovered if Medicare officials had decided to participate in a program that withholds government payments to contractors who owe backtaxes. The Defense Department and many civilian agencies take part in the program.

Robert Novak reports today that the OMB database on earmarks is intentionally incomplete- orders came from the White House to not finish it, for fear of offending earmark beneficiaries.

The Senate Budget Committee reported out its FY 2008 Budget Resolution yesterday on a straight 12 - 11 party line vote. All of the funding levels we reported earlier in the week remained the same after the mark-up. Only a few amendmends were adopted, the most significant of which was one offered by committee chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND), which required any new entitlement or tax legislation that would increase the budget deficit to clear a 60-vote point of order until the president puts forward and Congress approves legislation to restore solvency to the Social Security trust funds. The committee rejected a number of amendments, including one from Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) to create a 60-vote point of order against any budget resolution that failed to reach balance, excluding Social Security funds, in five years. By excluding Social Security funds, the deficit would be significantly higher than the current level and the budget would be that much more difficult to balance. Funny that Bunning did not advocate for using this larger deficit figure when the Republicans controled the Senate. The panel also rejected an amendment by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) to instruct the Finance Committee to find $33.8 billion in savings over five years, with the intent that the reductions come from putting in place a proposal by President Bush to reduce reimbursements to Medicare providers.