‘Blue Dog’ Deal Puts Budget on Path to Clear

[babylonsister]

‘Blue Dog’ Deal Puts Budget on Path to Clear
By Paul M. Krawzak, CQ Staff


House and Senate leaders expect to clear a fiscal 2010 budget agreement encompassing President Obama’s key priorities Wednesday, after scrambling to address fiscally conservative Democrats’ concerns.

Though the House had planned to vote on the measure (S Con Res 13) on Tuesday, with the Senate to follow Wednesday, objections from the House’s Blue Dog Coalition held up the measure by a day.

Members of the group emerged Tuesday evening from a meeting with Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer , D-Md., saying House leaders’ and Obama’s support for deficit controls had swayed them to support the compromise that was hammered out April 27.

Congressional staff said the House would vote first on the $3.6 trillion measure, followed by Senate action.

Though nonbinding, the budget resolution sets a framework for future tax and spending decisions.

It includes controversial reconciliation instructions that would ease passage of legislation, sought by Obama, to overhaul the nation’s health care system and curtail the role of private lenders in the federal student aid program.

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003105254

[KharmaTrain]

1. The Train Is Rollin'...

We're starting to see a shift in the political mindset in the beltway...finally. It's not to many of our likings, but it's moving in the right direction...and symbolized by Specter's defection yesterday. The polls for President Obama have been solid, while those who've opposed him have taken a fall. This is what they call "polical capital" and President Obama is using it.

The devil is in the details, and I'll be curious to read more about this "compromise", but my bets are President Obama, Emanuel and others have done their homework and ready to push through their real agenda. To this point, much has been stop-gap, soon he'll be tackling what we elected him for...health care reform, tax reform and so on. A year ago, I wouldn't have believed this was doable...now I see a clear path...