Management

Budget assumes agencies will collect unlikely amount in fees

Congress may prove reluctant to enact key fee hikes incorporated into the 2007 budget, leaving money even tighter than it appears.

Management

More requests to cut programs enacted, but some remain a tough sell

Congress is still reluctant to let some programs go, even if they are unable to show results.

Management

Budget cuts may prove difficult in election year

Lawmakers praise effort to slow entitlement growth, warn that stringent cuts in discretionary spending may be hard to swallow.

Management

Budget-cutting bill passes House again by narrow margin

Measure would trim the deficit by $39 billion over five years, largely through changes to student loan and entitlement programs.

News

Budget office predicts slight increase in deficit this fiscal year

Relative to the size of the economy, deficit expected to remain about the same as last year – not accounting for policies yet to be passed by Congress.

Management

Panel considers limits on lawmakers' earmark requests

Proposal looks to reduce the overall number of requests from about 35,000 each year to a more manageable number.

News

Backlash against earmarks gains steam

Movement to require public disclosure of local projects funded in spending bills gains momentum in wake of recent scandals.

News

Final budget vote set for Feb. 1

Passage of fiscal 2006 budget reconciliation bill would eliminate unneeded distraction as President Bush prepares to send up his 2007 budget.

News

Negotiations on budget-cutting bill to end this week

Accelerated timetable means measure is likely to escape more controversial add-ons, which may go to Defense bill instead.

Management

Final budget-cutting vote may be delayed until January

Acting majority leader did not commit Wednesday to bringing reconciliation bill up before Congress adjourns for the holidays.

News

House-Senate negotiators working to finish spending bills

House speaker continues push for 1 percent across-the-board cut.

News

Senator eyes unspent Iraq funds for hurricane reconstruction

Additional offsets for recovery could come in form of across-the-board cuts to fiscal 2006 appropriations.

News

Rift on Katrina relief, bird flu complicates Defense spending negotiations

Key appropriator from Mississippi wants more than double the $17.1 billion in hurricane aid proposed by the White House.

News

House, Senate leaders closer to avoiding catch-all spending bill

Leaders agree to send $142.5 billion Labor-HHS measure back to negotiations, meaning it will likely move as a stand-alone bill.

News

In rebuke to GOP leaders, House defeats Labor-HHS spending bill

Leaders hold vote open for 36 minutes to twist arms, but are unsuccessful.

News

House, Senate leaders plot strategy for finishing spending bills

House speaker is under pressure from conservatives to push across-the-board spending cuts at agencies.

News

Cuts to social programs upset key appropriators

Negotiators near agreement on spending bills, but $1.4 billion in cuts to Labor, Education and HHS not sitting well.

Management

Congress looks to provide $1.2 billion for VA in austere budget environment

Money is needed to achieve President Bush's amended funding request, announced this summer after embarrassing errors in VA budget projections were discovered.

Defense

Pentagon says urgent action needed on defense spending bill

Dec. 1 military pay day could all be jeopardized if lawmakers cannot agree on fiscal 2006 spending levels before Thanksgiving break.

News

Conference on Defense spending bill postponed

GOP leaders agree on one thing: they would like to avoid wrapping spending bills into an omnibus.