Measures to Reform Budget Process Move in Congress

Both chambers of Congress are moving forward on measures centered around budget process changes, with a focus on giving the president line-item veto authority. The House passed the Legislative Line Item Veto Act (H.R. 4890) 247-172 on Jun. 22, and the Senate Budget Committee reported out a broader budget reform bill on Jun. 21 that included presidential line-item rescission authority. The Senate bill, called the Stop Over Spending Act (S. 3521), also includes:

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    House Passes Half-Hearted Disclosure Bill, Alternative Remains Popular in Senate

    The House passed legislation last week that would provide for a free, searchable database to disclose information about government grants. H.R. 5060 sponsored by Reps. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Tom Davis (R-VA) passed the House on a voice vote on June 21, under suspension of the rules. The bill does not address disclosure of federal contracts, which accounted for some $339.7 billion in federal spending in 2004 alone.

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    House Saves Program for Measuring Results of Government Assistance

    The House voted Jun. 13 to partially fund the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), saving what is considered an essential tool for assessing how well government assistance programs are working.

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    Congress Drops the Ball on Minimum Wage Again

    Congress failed last week to raise the federal minimum wage which has stagnated for nearly a decade. The failure to act means its unlikely American workers will see a minimum wage increase any time soon. In the Senate, two measures to raise the minimum wage were voted down. In the House, an appropriations bill that contains a minimum wage increase is being kept from the floor, and Republicans have simultaneously rebuffed a Democratic effort to link an increase in the minimum wage with a bill that would nearly repeal the estate tax.

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    OMB Watch Tells Congress PART Should Remain Insignificant

    OMB Watch told Congress today that the Bush administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) draws biased conclusions about federal program efficacy and should thus continue to be largely ignored by Congress. Adam Hughes, OMB Watch's director of federal fiscal policy, testified on PART before a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee, during a hearing held by Committee Chair Tom Coburn (R-OK) to investigate why PART is not more widely used by Congress.

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    Think Tank Focuses on Economic Security

    The incongruity between Congress's priorities and the needs of average Americans was in stark contrast last week. As the Senate prepared to vote on estate tax repeal, the Center for American Progress held a briefing June 6 to explore the growing problem of economic insecurity facing many Americans. Panelists speaking at the briefing were:
    • Jared Bernstein, Economic Policy Institute economist and author;
    • Louis Uchitelle, New York Times reporter and author;
    • Paul Krugman, New York Times op-ed columnist and author: and

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    Senate Rejects Estate Tax Repeal; Frist Likely to Turn to Costly 'Compromise'

    Last week, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) failed to garner enough support for a procedural vote to move forward with debate on estate tax repeal. The Senate's reject of the motion signals lawmakers may now have realized that their priorities should reflect those of their constituents and the pressing issues facing the country, not tax breaks for multi-millionaires.

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