Budget overhaul bill sent to five committees

A bill to overhaul the budget process -- a proposal disliked by appropriators -- has received referrals to five committees, including the Appropriations Committee.

The measure, introduced by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, with 54 cosponsors, also has been referred to the Budget, Ways and Means, Rules, and Government Reform panels. The Budget Committee, with the lead referral, has until June 1 to act on the measure, although it may apply for an extension.

Appropriators would just as soon bury the legislation -- but if House GOP leaders decide to move it or a similar version, an Appropriations aide said the panel would take up the measure to ensure the committee's ideas are added.

The bill would impose a joint binding budget resolution with enforced spending caps, considered anathema to appropriators already critical of the budget resolution process. The bill would also reinstate pay/go requirements for new spending initiatives, although not for tax revenues, and require programs to be reauthorized by Congress before receiving increased funds.

Another proposal likely to draw the ire of appropriators is an idea floated by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, to require lawmakers to justify earmark requests in writing and include their names and explanations of each project contained in final spending bills.