In a surprising collapse late yesterday afternoon, the House GOP leadership pulled the 2007 budget resolution from floor consideration and gave up any efforts to pass the bill before the two-week April recess. Lacking the votes to pass the resolution, new GOP Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) failed in his first major test as head of the new leadership team in the House. Boehner had made statements earlier this week vowing to pass a budget before the recess or abandon efforts to pass one at all. On April 4, he asked rhetorically, "If we don't do it this week, why do it at all?"

It appears the budget bill passed by the House budget committee has garnered a good deal of opposition on both sides of the aisle. Democrats are, of course, opposed to the strict cap on discretionary spending in the budget (set at $873 billion). A number of moderate Republicans also oppose the bill, and while many of them are pushing for $7.2 billion more in discretionary spending to be added, there is little chance the Rules Committee will allow them to offer the amendment. Republican Rep.

Despite the discovery of three cows infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, long overdue measures to ensure the safety of the food supply and to keep foreign markets open to American beef have been stalled.