Congress approves $3,400bn budget

Congress approves $3,400bn budget
By Andrew Ward in Washington
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
Published: April 30 2009 03:06 | Last updated: April 30 2009 03:06
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8f7b025a-3524-11de-940a-00144feabdc0.html


Congress on Wednesday passed a $3,400bn budget resolution that laid the foundation for healthcare reform and a series of other Democratic policy goals, handing President Barack Obama a key victory on his 100th day in office.

The plan sailed through the House and Senate with overwhelming Democratic support but not a single Republican backed the measure, highlighting deep partisan division over a budget that would sharply increase government spending and expand the national debt.

The budget resolution is a nonbinding blueprint and more tough debate remains ahead before the plan is fleshed out in final appropriations and taxation legislation over the summer.

But Wednesday’s votes demonstrated strong Democratic backing for most of Mr Obama’s budget proposals, including healthcare reform and investments in education and green energy.

”This budget was hugely important to the president. This is the starting point for everything he wants to do,” said Kent Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.

”For every one of his key priorities, reducing dependence on foreign energy, making possible healthcare reform, a focus on excellence in education, none of those things could have been pursued effectively without this budget.”

The House approved the resolution on a vote of 233-193, while the Senate voted 53-43.

In addition to every Republican, 17 House Democrats and four Senate Democrats voted against the budget plan, highlighting anxiety among party moderates over the ballooning budget deficit.

Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania senator who defected from the Republican party to the Democrats on Tuesday, was among those who voted against the resolution – providing an early warning that he will not always side with his new party.

The plan included an option for Congress to pass healthcare reform – one of Mr Obama’s top legislative priorities – as part of the fast-track budget reconciliation process. Such a move would allow Democrats to pass healthcare reform with 50 Senate votes rather than the 60 normally required to overcome Republican opposition.

Some of Mr Obama’s proposals were abandoned or scaled back by congressional Democrats, including his signature middle class tax cuts, which will expire next year under the Senate plan, and his call to include climate change legislation in the budget, which was ignored by both chambers.

But Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House speaker, said most of the president’s priorities had survived. ”It’s a budget that reduces taxes, lowers the deficit and creates jobs. It honours the three pillars of the Obama initiatives: energy, health care and education.”

Republicans blasted the resolution as a big government juggernaut that would undermine economic recovery. ”It spends money we don’t have, piles unprecedented debt on our children and grandchildren, and raises taxes on families and small businesses, while taking away the middle-class tax cut the president promised during the campaign,” said John Boehner, the House Republican leader.