Competing Budget Plans Fail in Senate

On Wednesday the Senate failed to get the required 60 votes necessary on competing Republican and Democratic plans to cut discretionary spending and fund the remainder of fiscal year 2011.  The Republican plan, which passed the House of Representatives last week, was defeated by a vote of 44-56 with three Republicans (Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)  joining every Democrat in voting no.  Two Democrats, Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) also voted against both bills. All five members expressed frustration that neither bill did enough to eliminate the debt, specifically by ignoring entitlements. The Republican bill would have cut $57 billion in discretionary spending while funding the federal government through September 30, 2011.  The Democratic plan, which failed by a vote of 42-58 with 11 Democrats joining every Republican in opposition, would have also funded the federal government through September 30, 2011, but would have only cut discretionary spending by $4.7 billion. The outcome of these two votes sets the stage for another short-term extension if an agreement between the House, Senate and the White House cannot be reached by March 18 when the current continuing resolution expires.  It does not appear that any bipartisan negotiations between the White House and Congress have taken place this week on the path forward for the FY 2011 budget, which increases the likelihood of another short term extension.  In fact, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced this week that the House is preparing to move forward on a short-term continuing resolution that will continue to cut discretionary spending at $2 billion per week. If they are successful passing a second short-term bill, it will likely fund the government through April 1. AGC continues to work against many of the cuts to construction spending, urging Members of Congress to work to reform and improve programs rather than just slash spending. For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.