By a vote of 217-212 this afternoon, the House moved one step closer toward getting S Con Res 21, its version of the budget resolution, to a conference with the Senate. The following House members were appointed to the conference committee:

• John M. Spratt Jr. (D-SC)
• Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
• Chet Edwards (D-TX)
• Paul D. Ryan (R-WI)
• J. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C.

The expectation is that the Senate will follow suit perhaps as early as tomorrow, with conference committee meetings later this week and a report around May 15. "The important thing is to get it done next week," Senate Budget Committee chair Kent Conrad (N-ND) told reporters. "May 15 is what appropriators said they need." The following conflicts between the House and Senate budget resolution versions are likely to be the toughest to resolve:

• The Baucus Amendment: A Senate provision calling for using a $132 billion surplus projected for fiscal 2012 to pay for extending popular tax cuts over 2010-12, such as those benefitting married couples and the child tax credit, while fixing the estate tax at 2009-law levels.
  • House: the main issue is how to draft a "trigger" mechanism in the resolution that allows extensions of tax cuts expiring in 2010 to go forward only if surpluses actually materialize -- otherwise, they would have to be offset under PAYGO rules.
  • Senate: indicated a preference to waive the offset requirements for certain tax breaks affecting the middle class and family farms, given that the Baucus amendment passed on a 97-1 vote, far in excess of the 60 votes required to waive PAYGO.
• Reconciliation Instructions: The House version seeks procedural protections for legislation to expand direct government aid to college students by cutting private lender subsidies. Conrad opposes instructions to the Education committees; he is on record saying that reconciliation is meant to be reserved for deficit reduction, and the House version sets aside a paultry $75 million in savings as it is.
• Discretionary Spending Caps: The House and Senate are roughly $7 billion apart, with the Senate proposing a $948.8 cap on overall discretionary spending and the House proposing $955 billion. Word is that the compromise figure will tilt toward the House number. The President proposed $930 billion, but with priorities more skewed toward military spending. He has repeated past years' threats to veto a budget that exceeds his spending caps.

The House action today and May 15 deadline suggest that the Congressional Democratic leadership is close solutions on the above points, with important implications not just for FY 2008, but for the full five years the budget resolution covers and beyond.