House GOP again forced to delay vote on the fiscal 2007 budget

House Republican leaders Thursday yanked the $2.7 trillion fiscal 2007 budget resolution from the schedule after failing to reach agreement with party moderates on health and education spending.

It was the second time in less than two months that they could not round up enough votes to pass a budget. Negotiations will continue through the weekend, but the window of opportunity is rapidly closing with the first fiscal 2007 appropriations bills reaching the floor next week.

"There was some chance the budget would come to the floor tonight," House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said. "We made a lot of progress today, but we're not there."

Boehner added that the chamber would be in for votes next Friday as action on spending bills and the "possibility of doing the budget" will keep members in town. "When we think we have the votes to pass the budget, we'll bring it up. Sooner rather than later I hope," he told Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., in a floor colloquy.

If no agreement is reached early next week, GOP leaders could insert a provision "deeming" the budget's $873 billion spending cap into the rule for floor debate on the first spending bill up next week, an $18.5 billion Agriculture appropriations bill. That would put moderates in a bind, since voting against the rule is considered apostasy within the Republican Conference.

House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., has already moved three bills to the floor for consideration next week -- Interior-Environment and Military Quality of Life are the other two -- that live within that cap. But it is largely bills that will come later in the process, principally the Labor-HHS measure and the Transportation-Treasury bill to a lesser extent, that have moderates concerned.

"We just haven't been able to come up with anything that, you know, people think is really meaningful," said Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., lead negotiator for a group of about 15 moderates. "The money is not there right now ... members are very concerned about medical research, university research," math and science education and community development grants, he said.

This year marks the first time party moderates have inserted themselves so early into the appropriations process. Using their leverage on the budget vote, they have been granted unprecedented discussions with Lewis about programmatic funding assumptions he has made in determining subcommittee allocations.

That way, moderates argue, they will not be blindsided into voting for a budget cap that shortchanges their favored programs later in the year when the final decisions are made by others behind closed doors.

Lewis has set a $141.9 billion fiscal 2007 spending cap for Labor-HHS programs. That is an $843 million increase over current fiscal year funding, but still represents a $747 million cut from where Labor-HHS funding stood two years ago.

Although a $4.1 billion increase over President Bush's fiscal 2007 request, Lewis' allocation is still about $3.1 billion less than what moderates estimate is needed to keep up with inflation.

"We're interested and they're interested in some way of trying to ascertain how we can get the other $3.1 billion," Castle said.

Boehner has told moderates he considers the $4.1 billion increase a "floor" for eventual conference negotiations with the Senate. But Castle said since Labor-HHS negotiations will linger until after the elections, this summer's initial House action "may be a very significant vote" for members seeking to demonstrate to voters their commitment to social services programs.

GOP leaders will not raise the $873 billion overall cap or risk angering conservatives. Nor will they cut proposed defense funds or scale back tax cuts, meaning to get additional money GOP leaders would have to agree to budgetary gimmicks like "advance" appropriations from one fiscal year out.

Conservatives despise such gimmicks, however, making across-the-board cuts a more attractive solution.

Democrats sought to capitalize on the budget's apparent defeat. "House Republicans are deeply divided, in disarray, and failing to get the job done for the American people," Hoyer said in a statement.