Heading into the week long St. Patrick's Day recess, the House Republican leadership has formally introduced a lobbying and ethics reform bill, while the Senate has scheduled a vote for March 27. While both chambers are finally moving legislation, it is increasingly unclear what new rules will eventually be enacted, and whether they will change business as usual in Washington.

Before departing for a week-long St. Patrick's Day recess, Congress succeeded in further mangling the fiscal state of the nation. The House passed a costly emergency supplemental bill, while the Senate approved a misguided budget resolution. At the same time, both chambers approved an increase to the nation's debt limit to pay for their fiscal decisions. The $92 billion emergency supplemental measure passed by the House will significantly increase current deficits and do so by circumventing standard budget procedures.

Last week before leaving town for another weeklong recess, the Senate approved its Fiscal year 2007 budget resolution. The resolution is a significant departure from President Bush's proposed budget submitted earlier this year, dropping the president's Medicare cuts, not extending tax cuts, and adding over $16 billion in discretionary spending above the president's request. Despite these changes that make it more election-friendly for Senate incumbents, the budget continues to fall short of the sound budget policy desperately needed to stem the growth of deficits.

Attempting to justify the Congressional GOP's push to extend and make permanent President Bush's first term tax cuts, many Republican legislators and pundits, including the vice president, have recently claimed tax cuts pay for themselves by spurring economic growth. While this argument bolsters their call for tax cut permanence, the evidence shows the claim is more fiction than hard fact.