House ‘deems’ budget resolution

The House “deemed” the chamber’s GOP budget resolution as adopted on Wednesday as part of a procedural maneuver to begin work on fiscal 2016 appropriations bills.

A 1974 law prevents either the House or Senate from beginning floor consideration of appropriations bills before  May 15 unless both chambers adopt a budget agreement. But the House can easily go around that rule simply by adopting a “deemer” resolution to use the House-passed budget resolution’s top-line spending limits instead.

The House will vote Friday on the final budget agreement that reconciles the two chambers’ budget resolutions, according to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) office.

{mosads}GOP leaders had initially anticipated the budget conference committee to release a final product on Monday. The House originally planned to adopt the conference committee’s document before starting work on the first two appropriations bills of the year this week, but will go ahead anyway.

The deemer resolution was approved as part of a “rule” governing floor debate for the appropriations bills, which passed 240-186.

The House is expected to pass the first fiscal 2016 appropriations bill funding the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and military construction projects later Wednesday. Members will then start debate late Wednesday evening on the second funding measure for the Department of Energy and water infrastructure.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, urged fellow Democrats to vote against the deemer resolution.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), a member of the budget conference committee, blamed Republicans for the delay in producing a final budget resolution. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) had held up the negotiations until signing off on Wednesday.

“Instead of the majority party governing, they’ve resorted to this plan B and deeming the budget as passed,” Moore said.

But Rep. Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) argued that Congress is closer to a reconciled budget agreement for the first time in many years now that Republicans hold the majority in both the House and Senate.

“I share her frustration. I absolutely do… Not once, not once have we been able to agree on conference budget numbers in the four years that I’ve served in the House,” Woodall said. “We’ve never had a shot at getting it done in the past. We are on the brink of that agreement.”