Hill sources indicate that sunset commission proposals could move through the House by riding onto a package of budget process reforms. Ever since the revelation that House leadership conceded to the Republican Study Committee's demands for a guaranteed floor vote on sunset commission proposals, the key question for many has been what legislative vehicle will be used to fulfill that promise. A few news sources had suggested that the preferred proposal for sunset commissions would be a bill sponsored by Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS), but a more recent article referred to elements from a bill sponsored by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) based on an earlier White House proposal. (Click here for a one-pager explaining key features of the two leading bills.) Even with the two leading proposals identified, it remained unclear just how the proposal would move to a floor vote. Only one sunset commission bill has even been the subject of a hearing, and no bill has been reported out of committee. Now some Hill sources are reporting that the House leadership, already stymied with lobby reform and budget legislation, believes a stand alone bill on sunsets would be difficult to bring to the floor. According to some reports, House leaders are considering advancing a sunset commission proposal as part of a package of budget process reforms. Still others report that the actual vehicle is still an open question, although inclusion in budget process reform is a viable possibility. OMB Watch has reported recently on some of the more controversial proposals for budget process reforms. The Republican Study Committee, which propelled sunset commissions from congressional limbo with their recent demands of floor time for the issue, is also pushing its own set of proposals, including the ability to strike earmarks inserted for the first time in conference reports and the right to challenge emergency spending above certain limits. Whatever the actual vehicle, sources anticipate that the chairs of authorizing committees will be displeased with the move to bring the sunset commission proposal to the floor. Although the sunset commission proposal could move in budget process reform legislation, the concept would not reform the actual budget or appropriations processes but, instead, would threaten to force an end-point to existing programs created and periodically reauthorized by the authorizing committees of jurisdiction, thus challenging the authority of these committees. More information is available in OMB Watch's resource center for sunset commission news and analysis, and up-to-the-minute developments will be noted in the Regulatory Policy Program's weblog REG•WATCH.