Overview: the Budget Resolution Conference Agreement
by Dana Chasin, 5/16/2007
For overviews of the budget resolution compromise package announced late this morning by the House and Senate Budget Committees, see:
- Overview of the FY 2008 Budget Conference Agreement
- Conrad-Spratt Press Release on Budget Conference Agreement
- Discretionary Spending Caps: The agreement provides $954 billion for discretionary programs in fiscal 2008, $21 billion over the president's request, with significant increases in funding for children's health, education, and veterans' health care.
- PAYGO Rules/"Trigger": Under the agreement, revenue legislation is subject to House and Senate Pay-As-You-Go rules, and a House-only "trigger" mechanism to ensure fiscal responsibility. The House "trigger" mechanism limits tax cuts to 80 percent of the projected surplus in 2012, if OMB's July 2010 estimates confirm such a projection.
- Tax Provisions: The agreement endorses middle-class tax relief, including extending marriage penalty relief, the child tax credit, and the 10 percent bracket subject to the PAYGO rule; it also provides a one-year AMT patch.
- Long-Term Debt Reduction: The agreement also creates a Senate point of order against legislation that increases the deficit in the four decades beyond the next ten years (2018-2027, 2028-2037, 2038-2047, and 2048-2057) by over $5 billion during those decades.
