After three days of debate, the Senate Budget Committee on March 30 approved, 12-10, the FY2001 budget resolution (as-yet-unnumbered). The House approved its version (H. Con. Res. 290) on March 23 (see The Source, 3/24/00, p. 1). Senate floor action is expected on April 3, followed closely by a House-Senate conference in an effort to meet the April 15 deadline.
The Senate spending plan closely mirrors the House version by providing $596.5 billion in discretionary spending in FY2001, a $10.5 billion increase over FY2000. The resolution also would provide for $150 billion in tax cuts over the next five years, with $13 billion in tax cuts in FY2001. The House version would provide $10 billion in tax cuts in FY2001. Both plans would reserve the entire Social Security surplus to pay down the debt.
The original Senate budget plan would have set aside $20 billion of the non-Social Security surplus for the enactment of a Medicare prescription drug coverage benefit. However, the benefit would have to accompany Medicare reform. Under the House version, $40 billion of the non-Social Security surplus would be set aside to reform and strengthen Medicare and would include a prescription drug benefit.
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) offered an amendment that would allow the money to be used within three years. Under the amendment, if a Medicare reform bill is not reported by September 1, the money could then be used for a prescription drug benefit stand-alone bill or for an amendment to another bill. Additionally, if Congress has not acted on a prescription drug benefit bill by FY2004, the amendment would earmark an additional $20 million for FY2004 and FY2005. The Snowe amendment was approved by voice vote.
The committee defeated, 10-12, an amendment offered by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) that would have doubled the Medicare prescription drug coverage reserve fund to $40 million.
