House Passes FY 2007 Budget

May 18, 2006 – Early this morning, the House of Representatives passed its FY 2007 budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 376) by a vote of 218 to 210. Led by Representatives Mike Castle (R-DE) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Republican moderates won a promise for modest increases in spending on health, education, and other social programs.

ASH launched a Grassroots Network advocacy campaign calling for Congress to add $7 billion to the budget in discretionary funding for health, education, and labor programs. The Society also joined several hundred health, education, and labor organizations on a letter to the House Budget Committee.

For the Republican leadership, passage of the Republican plan avoided the embarrassment of not being able to pass a budget through the House of Representatives for the first time since congressional budget rules were put in place in 1975.

However, it is unlikely that the House and Senate will be able to agree on a mutual budget plan. The House and Senate remain far apart on how much to spend this year, and the particulars of how to allocate the money.

In terms of the appropriations process, House Appropriations Committee Chair Jerry Lewis (R-CA) vows that all of the House appropriations bills will pass by the July 4 recess and that he will do what he can to avoid a catch-all omnibus bill. Meanwhile, Senate aides suggest that as few as two spending bills could be enacted by Election Day – Defense and Homeland Security – setting the stage for an omnibus or a long-term continuing resolution.

The following is a summary prepared by Rep. Michael Castle's staff on the budget agreement reached between House Republican moderates and the leadership.

Agreement for FY 2007 House Budget Resolution

1. Castle/N. Johnson/Reichert offered a substitute budget to increase the President's request for education and health accounts by $7.158 billion.

This amount was equal to the funding enacted in FY 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill, plus a 2% inflationary increase.

2. As a result of negotiations pursuant to the substitute (above), and while developing the 302(b)s, over $6 billion was shifted from Defense and Foreign Operations accounts into other areas of domestic discretionary spending.

Approximately $4.1 billion was shifted to Labor HHS Education ($843 million over funds enacted FY 2006); $1 billion to Homeland Security; $500 million to Agriculture, $500 million to Energy and Water; and other increases for the Treasury Transportation bill and the Science, State, Commerce, Justice bill.

3. Upon further negotiations Republican leadership has assured moderates that there will be no less than $3.1 billion, above the $4.1 billion, for health research, education funding for disabled and low-income students, Centers for Disease Control, after school care, vocational education, and the National Institutes of Health and other programs to benefit constituents. The following amendments were included in the Rule for the House Budget Resolution:

A. "The House of Representatives recognizes the need to increase the President's fiscal year 2007 request for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation bill by not less than $7,158,000,000."

B. "There should be included in any offsets enacted to provide for the increases relative to the President's request for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill a rescission of at least $1,000,000,000 from available, unobligated funds previously appropriated for reconstruction activities in Iraq."

4. In addition to the important health and education programs, other domestic priorities negotiated for no less than the amount funded in FY 2006 approps bills include Byrne and COPS grants in Science, State, Justice, Commerce Approps; the Community Development Block Grant in Transportation, Treasury, HUD; and adequate funding to accommodate the President's Competitiveness Initiative.

5. While the $4.1 billion has already been set aside in the Labor, HHS, Education Bill, we have received commitments that the additional $3 billion will not come from mandatory programs that serve the very people we are trying to help – like Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, foster programs and others. We will make sure any offsets are carefully crafted and have no intentions of supporting reductions, which would adversely affect the neediest among us.

Prepared by the Office of Congressman Michael Castle.