Check out Dana's latest in his TPM Cafe series on the budget process. This edition: the last few sticking points regarding the congressional budget resolution. It was over six weeks ago when the House and Senate passed their $2.9 trillion budget resolutions for the federal fiscal year starting on October 1, 2008 and projected budgets through 2012. Since then, the attention of most members of Congress has been on the war in Iraq and whether or how to end it.

The day after the House-Senate budget resolution conferees met last week to take up their delicate deliberations, the bull from the Bush china shop came barreling into the room -- thankfully, long after negotiators had left. But the portly bull, less than deft, issued threats that fell on deaf ears, bloviating to long-vacated room: ... it is timely to notify you that I will recommend the President veto any appropriations bill that exceeds his request until Congress demonstrates a sustainable path that keeps discretionary spending within the President's topline of $933 billion.

A common misconception about the Baucus amendment to the budget resolution, which calls for making permanent a handful of the Bush tax cuts, is that it's progressive, that it's a "middle class" tax cut. Indeed, many of the tax cuts it calls for are progressive, including the child tax credit. And it calls for an expansion the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which could be a big boost for low to modest income-earning families.

Caveat: This is very inside-baseball stuff, since motions-to-instruct are non-binding and purely advisory, and the practical consequences of budget resolutions themselves are mostly in terms of the overall discretionary spending caps they impose for the fiscal year ahead. Late yesterday, the Senate held the three roll-call votes listed below on motions to instruct budget resolution conferees. The Senate also approved, by voice vote, a motion by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), establishing a reserve fund for renewable fuels and other energy legislation.