It's been a busy day of voting on tax and budget issues in both the House and the Senate. Below are the highlights thus far: Continuing Resolution ContinuedThe House voted 413-16 to extend the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through December 17. It was due to expire tomorrow. The CR is necessary for the government to be funded while Congress finishes work on the approps bills; however this particular CR egregriously underfunds programs. Read more about it here. Labor-HHS Approps Bill FailsThe House did not pass the Labor-HHS appropriations bill discussed earlier on this blog. The vote failed 209-224, with all Democrats voting and 22 Republicans against the bill. It will now be sent back to conference, or the bill may be passed in an omnibus bill later this year. The House Labor-HHS vote is a good sign that GOP moderates are standing up for the right priorities today, instead of voting with the leadership. The House is currently in recess right now because leadership still does not have the votes to pass the budget reconciliation bill. This bill has already been postponed once last week because of lack of support. The GOP is holding off and twisting arms until they can get the votes they need. According to the leadership they are still planning to hold the vote today, but that could change at any time. Senators Decide They Like DeficitsOn the other side of the Capitol today, Sen. Conrad's (D-ND) substitute amendment to the tax reconciliation bill was defeated. The Senate voted 44-55 against the amendment which would have extended only tax cuts that expire in 2005, expanded a one-year provision to decrease the effect of the alternative minimum tax on the middle class, and provided tax incentives for Gulf Coast rebuilding. Conrad's amendment would have also included offsets for these tax cuts so they would not increase the deficit. Unfortunately, Senators, including two Democrats, voted against fiscal responsibility when they voted against the Conrad substitute.