In looking at this President’s budget, it appears that he is trying to be all things to all people. If we are to believe the President, there can be large increases for defense, smaller increases for homeland security spending, and the creation of new, large tax breaks for the nation’s wealthiest, including the acceleration and making permanent of previously enacted large income tax breaks – as well as a rational restraining of most other federal spending to contain the large deficits predicted for FY 2004 and beyond. However, the reality is that the large tax cuts already passed, coupled with the large tax cuts now proposed and the spending increases in defense and homeland security, will put added pressure to reduce long-term spending on domestic discretionary and entitlement programs – or cause the deficit to balloon.

On January 23, on a vote of 69-29, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 2, a $390 billion omnibus appropriations bill in an effort to begin bringing the FY 2003 appropriations season to a close. Since Congress was unable to resolve its budgeting differences last fall during its election fervor, this bill combines into one large bill the 11 appropriations bills that were not completed before Congress adjourned in December. (The timeline for this appropriations bill was so rushed, in fact, that Senate and House Republicans agreed to completely bypass the House, which has the authority to originate all spending bills, and allow the Senate to begin action on the omnibus spending bill.)

Congress officially adjourned last Friday, after passing its seventh Continuing Resolution (CR) of the year. This CR, H.J. 124, was necessary to provide the funding to keep government running because Congress was unable to pass 11 of the 13 appropriations bills for FY 2003, which began on October 1, 2002. This CR funds departments and programs at their FY 2002 levels through January 11. It appears there will be an effort to pass the FY 2003 appropriations before the President’s State of the Union address, so at least one more CR will be necessary.

One reason the nonprofit community was able to stop permanent repeal of the estate tax is that Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) needed 60 votes in the Senate, rather than just a "simple majority" of 51 votes. With the expiration of key Senate budget rules on October 1, however, the Senate may lose this key feature that helped earn it the title of "the world’s greatest deliberative body."