Budget chairmen are back at work

The two Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Budget committees have returned to Capitol Hill early to discuss the differences between their two blueprints.

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) met on Thursday, and in a joint statement said their party is “committed to creating a balanced budget.” 

“We look forward to the Senate-House conference beginning its work as early as next week, followed by congressional passage of a joint concurrent budget resolution for our nation,” Price and Enzi said in a joint statement.

{mosads}Republicans hope to finish a joint House-Senate budget by Wednesday, a deadline that looks like it will be hard to meet. Congress is on the second week of a recess that began after each chamber approved its respective budget.

The two budgets are largely similar, in that they would both retain budget ceilings included in a 2011 budget deal that limit spending. Both would also include $96 billion in war funding in an effort to give the Pentagon more flexibility.

Disagreements also remain, including how to use the budget reconciliation process, which would allow the Senate to approve major policy changes later this year — such as repealing ObamaCare — on a majority vote.

— Updated at 2:20 p.m.