Congressional Quarterly Today

...Another report by the Urban Institute and the New America Foundation discussed on Friday looked at changes in spending between 2006 and 2007, and found that while the overall children’s budget increased .7 percent, the non-child portions of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid grew 5.3 percent... During times of rapid growth in discretionary spending, such as what occurred between 2001 and 2006, one would expect an opportunity for more funding to go toward children and children’s programs, said David… more

...“We’ll be requiring key procedural votes, and also taking some time on the floor this week, to indicate the problems of this legislation,” Russ Feingold , D-Wis., said Monday of himself and Christopher J. Dodd , D-Conn., speaking at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. “We’re not just going to let it quickly pass...” LINK

Democrats Ponder Strategies for Confronting Bush on Spending (Congressional Quarterly Today) "It's hard to see how you go through the same process this year and make it work more smoothly," said Maya MacGuineas, president of The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan watchdog group.

 

 

Senate Budget Chairman Conrad and ranking member Judd Gregg, R-N.H., recently proposed to "create a task force to recommend comprehensive legislation addressing expected shortfalls in the major entitlement programs," such as Medicare and Social Security.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget endorses the Conrad-Gregg proposal and is listed as a supporter in Congressional Quarterly Today (September 18, 2007) and in National Journal's CongressDaily (September 19, 2007). The Concord Coalition and GAO Comptroller General David Walker have also given praise… more

When a program to expand health coverage for children comes to the House floor this week, Democrats will face a stiff challenge posed by a campaign promise: paying for it.The bill (HR 3162) that would expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was approved last week by two panels but falls about $70 billion to $90 billion short of offsets over 10 years, which Democrats must deliver to move the legislation forward.At issue is the… more

Legislation that would expand and tighten sanctions against Iran is one of several measures to be considered Thursday by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The measure (HR 957) would further amend existing law (PL 104-172) by extending sanctions to foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies that do business with Iran. The underlying law sought to curtail investments that would enhance Iran's petroleum resources.

The new legislation also would "tighten loopholes" in the sanctions law by refining the definition of petroleum products… more

House Democrats are likely to score a victory in their plan to cut interest rates on federal student loans, but GOP and industry opposition and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate could limit success to one chamber. The hazy details available in the days before Democrats release the plan -- including cutting rates only on subsidized loans and phasing in the cuts -- indicate that they might have found ways to ease budgetary hurdles. But that is… more