“Tonight, the Senate has joined the House of Representatives in taking an important step toward rebuilding our struggling economy,†said Obama in a statement. “This budget resolution embraces our most fundamental priorities: an energy plan that will end our dependence on foreign oil and spur a new clean energy economy; an education system that will ensure our children will be able to compete in the economy of the 21st century; and health care reform that finally confronts the back-breaking costs plaguing families, businesses and government alike.†The president is in Europe for the G-20 summit and NATO meetings.
The House of Representatives approved its version of the budget with a 233-196 roll call, with 20 Democrats voting no. The budget calls for spending of $3.6 trillion and includes a deficit of $1.2 trillion.
The Senate voted a few hours later, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding. The vote was 55-43 for a slightly different proposal that calls for spending $3.5 trillion and but still forecasts a $1.2 trillion deficit. All but two Democrats voted yes.
“It’s going to take a lot of work to clean up the mess we inherited, and passing this budget is a critical step in the right direction,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said. “Staying true to these priorities will help turn around the economy for the many Americans who are underwater right now.”
While passage of the budget in the House and Senate represents victories for the administration, the budgets clear the way for work later in the year on key presidential priorities, which Obama referenced in his statement.
Both chambers adopted the president’s plan to extend tax cuts for the middle class beyond their 2010 expiration date and to allow tax cuts to expire for families making more than $250,000 a year.
The measures now move to a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the proposals. This is where the devil will definitely be in the details because although Democrats obviously support the president’s budget, they remain divided over the implementation.
CBC’s Budget
However, before votes could be made on the resolutions that ultimately passed, House lawmakers had to first consider alternative budget proposals crafted by the Congressional Black Caucus, Republicans and progressive Democrats.
The CBC has submitted an alternative budget for the past 16 years. But with impressive Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress and the first African American president — and former CBC member — in the White House, one might assume this year would be different.
California Rep. Barbara Lee, who heads the CBC, said, “President Obama’s budget is a welcome shift in priorities away from the failed policies of the previous administration. The CBC budget complements the president’s budget by focusing attention on those most in need.â€
Virginia Rep. Robert Scott, who was in the unique position of being a member of the House budget committee and the primary author of the CBC proposal, added, “It’s important for the CBC to continue standing up for its priorities. The [committee’s] budget was a good budget, but we felt we could improve on it and by making a few adjustments, we’ve shown how we can make substantially stronger investments in our priorities.â€
The CBC alternative would provide greater deficit reductions of $52.9 billion over a five-year period, saving nearly $7 billion in mandatory net interest payments on the national debt, says Scott. The savings proposed by the CBC could be used to make greater investment in healthcare ($18 billion); education, job training and social services ($17 billion); transportation and infrastructure ($8 billion); justice programs ($5.5 billion); and veterans benefits and services ($4.5 billion).
The CBC budget lost by a margin of 318 to 118, but fared a bit better than the plans submitted by the Republican Study Group (322-111), which would have reduced domestic spending and taxes, and the progressive Democrats (348-84), which called for hundreds of billions more on domestic programs. The House Republicans budget, which several GOP members voted against, also failed by a margin of 293 to 137. The latter alternative called for $4.8 trillion less in spending over 10 years than Obama’s budget and would repeal the entire $787 billion economic stimulus package except for an extension of unemployment insurance benefits.
“A lot of work goes into the base budget and some people just want to support the primary budget,†Scott explained. “Throughout the debate [the CBC’s] position was that the base bill is good, but ours is better.â€
Joyce Jones contributed to this article.