Congress Daily (subscription req'd) is reporting that even if the minimum wage hike amendment in the House Labor-H funding bill is stripped out and put up for a vote in its own bill, Labor-H appropriations would still not see a full floor vote before September. The measure also faces criticism from both wings of the GOP -- conservatives don't like the numerous earmarks; moderates argue it underfunds education and health programs.

According to Congress Daily (subscription req’d), the Senate Appropriations Committee will go to work this week: ...the panel [is] scheduled for a marathon session Thursday to consider legislation funding the lion's share of federal discretionary spending, or nearly 78 percent of the total $872.8 billion allotted to the panel for FY07. On tap are the Defense, Labor-HHS, Military Construction and Transportation-Treasury measures...

When the president repeats his mantra "cut the deficit in half by 2009", one could reasonably assume that the downward trend in deficits would continue past 2009 - as if "half in 2009" was a milestone of sorts. But, au contraire! The "half in 2009" is not a just a milestone but a turning point - the point where deficits start growing again. It’s right there in black and white in the president’s FY2007 budget, but it’s starkly absent in his speech. From page 223 in the Analytical Perspectives document of the President's FY 2007 Budget: (click on image for expanded view)

This time from the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire - a great analysis of President Bush’s tax policies: Treasury long-run analyses of the effects of President Bush’s tax cuts “may ultimately” raise total national output of goods and services by 0.7%. [...]