House Approves FY2005 Budget Resolution - Women's Congressional Policy Institute

After two days of debate, the House approved, 215-212, the FY2005 budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 393) on March 25. The House Budget Committee approved the measure on March 17 (see The Source, 3/19/04). The Senate approved its version of the budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 95) on March 12 (see The Source, 3/12/04). The House and Senate will now meet in a conference committee to work out the differences between the two resolutions.

Under the resolution, $821.3 billion would be provided for discretionary spending in FY2005, $1.7 billion below the administration’s request, but $7.3 billion above the Senate resolution.

The resolution proposes to extend through 2010 several provisions included in the 2003 tax law (P.L. 108-27) that are set to expire on December 31, 2004. These include: the accelerated increase in the child tax credit, the expansion of the 10 percent income tax bracket, and the expansions of the standard deduction and 15 percent income tax bracket for married taxpayers filing jointly.

The resolution also directs the House Committees on Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Government Reform, and Ways and Means to find $13.2 billion in mandatory spending cuts over five years.

The resolution would establish a reserve for FY2005 through FY2009 for legislation that addresses access to health care services and health insurance for the uninsured.

The resolution also would establish a reserve for the Family Opportunity Act (H.R. 2000) to provide Medicaid coverage for children with special needs.

In FY2005, the resolution would provide $26.5 billion for international programs.

The resolution would provide $2.9 billion for education programs in FY2005 “to accommodate increases in priority programs, such as special education State grants, Title I grants to local education agencies, and Pell Grants to low-income college students.”

The resolution would provide $245.1 billion for health programs in FY2005. In addition, Medicare would receive $288.2 billion.

The House Budget Committee report accompanying the resolution states that the FY2005 budget “continues the government’s commitment to preserve and strengthen both Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program [SCHIP], which assists individuals and families who cannot afford health care coverage.”

The resolution would provide $16.9 billion over five years for the reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. According to the report, “Since TANF was enacted in 1996, welfare rolls have declined by 56 percent with the vast majority of those individuals replacing their government dependence with the self-reliance of productive jobs. In fact, more than 3 million single mothers who have left welfare have been lifted out of poverty, mostly because of increased earnings. In that same period, child poverty fell to its lowest level in more than 25 years. Black and Hispanic child poverty have fallen to their lowest levels in history.”

To address the ongoing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the resolution would include a $50 billion reserve for supplemental appropriations.

During consideration of the resolution, the House rejected the following the amendments:

a substitute amendment offered by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus that would have provided $43.3 billion in additional spending and $5 billion for deficit reduction in FY2005. Of that amount, $1 billion would have been provided for a four-week extension of unemployment insurance benefits; an additional $2 billion would have been provided for job training and workforce development; and an additional $371 million would have been provided for job creation programs at the Small Business Administration. The amendment also would have included $3 billion to provide health insurance coverage for the uninsured; fully funded the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110); increased the maximum Pell Grant from $4,050 to $4,500; and provided an additional $800 million for the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative. The amendment would have been offset by rescinding the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for individuals with incomes more than $200,000, by closing tax loopholes, and reducing the allocation for the ballistic missile defense program. The amendment was defeated, 119-302;
a substitute amendment offered by Rep. Charles Stenholm (D-TX) on behalf of the Blue Dog Coalition that would have balanced the budget by 2012 and cut the federal deficit in half in two years. The amendment also would have provided $81.2 billion for education programs and restored funding to a number of small business programs. The amendment would have extended for a year provisions in the 2003 tax law and would have allowed Congress to make the tax cuts permanent if the budget is balanced. The amendment was defeated, 183-243;
a substitute amendment offered by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) on behalf of the Republican Study Committee that would have limited discretionary spending to $811 billion. The amendment was defeated, 116-309; and
a Democratic substitute amendment offered by Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) that would have scaled back portions of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for those individuals with incomes more than $500,000. The amendment also would have reinstated the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) rule requiring that any tax cuts or spending increases be offset with revenue increases or spending cuts. The amendment would have provided an additional $1.1 billion in FY2005 and an additional $11.4 billion over the next five years for health care programs. The amendment was defeated, 194-232.