Budget Schedule

The incoming Director of Budget and Appropriations Issues for Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), G. William Hoagland, recently gave a briefing to states about the upcoming budget. Included in this piece are some points from that briefing and other reports, as well as a tentative schedule for completing work on the FY 2003 budget and beginning the FY 2004 budget work.

The incoming Director of Budget and Appropriations Issues for Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), G. William Hoagland, recently gave a briefing to states about the upcoming budget. Included in this piece are some points from that briefing and other reports, as well as a tentative schedule for completing work on the FY 2003 budget and beginning the FY 2004 budget work.

The incoming Director of Budget and Appropriations Issues for Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), G. William Hoagland, recently gave a briefing to states about the upcoming budget. Included in this piece are some points from that briefing and other reports, as well as a tentative schedule for completing work on the FY 2003 budget and beginning the FY 2004 budget work.

  • There is expected to be tentative agreement on an Omnibus Appropriations bill including all of the remaining 11 appropriations bills for FY 2003 before the President’s State of the Union speech in January. The total amount appropriated would be $7.5 billion more than last year’s spending level, but $9.4 billion below the current Senate level. A good part of that additional $7.5 billion will likely go to First Responders, bioterrorism, and education. According to some estimates, that means that the resources for domestic spending will need to be cut by $9 billion below the FY 2002 level. Debate on the omnibus bill will start on the Senate floor (usually spending bills originate in the House), and then go to House-Senate Conference.

    Possible Items in the Administration’s $300 Billion Economic “Growth” Tax Cut Plan:
    • Acceleration of reductions in individual tax rates by advancing to 2003 the top percentage rate cuts scheduled for 2004; and/or advancing to 2004 the cuts scheduled for 2006.
    • Reduction in taxes on corporate dividends either for companies or shareholders. (Fully eliminating corporate dividends would cost over $493 billion over 10 years.)
    • Increase depreciation rules for corporations.
    • Expansion of IRA and 401(k) retirement plans
    • Increase in Child Tax Credit.
    • Make the Bush tax cuts that will expire in 2010 permanent (at a cost of $4 trillion in the first decade after 2012)
  • The 2004 budget resolution will probably include two reconciliation bills: one an economic “stimulus” plan offered by early April, and another for Medicare give-backs, a prescription drug plan, TANF reauthorization, and possibly authorization for ANWAR drilling, to be offered by early May. See the box to the right for possible provisions in the stimulus bill.

  • A supplemental appropriations bill may be acted on in early spring, especially if there is a war. This bill might include funding to states to implement the new election reform law. Unsurprisingly, especially if all these tax cuts pass, there also may be an effort to increase the national debt ceiling in early spring.

While not the stated legislative purpose, in this case, the reconciliation bills are a useful way to avoid the 60-vote requirement in the Senate, and allow passage (especially of the new tax cuts in the stimulus bill) by 51 votes. The reconciliation bills hinge on whether a budget resolution can be agreed upon.

Following is the schedule given by Hoagland for the FY 2004 budget:

  • December 3: Decisions on all agency requests

  • December 6: Agencies submit appeals

  • December 20: All agreements finalized on the President’s budget submission to Congress

  • February 8: Presentation of the President’s budget to Congress

  • March 14: Completion of FY 2004 Budget Resolution
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