For other versions of this document, see http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RL31840 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Order Code RL31840 Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees Updated May 16, 2008 Robert Keith Specialist in American National Government Government and Finance Division Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees Summary Both the House and the Senate have procedures whereby the full bodies may issue instructions to conferees on budget resolutions. Such instructions usually are issued in the form of a motion, but in at least one instance the Senate adopted a simple resolution containing such instructions. If a motion or resolution instructing conferees is agreed to, however, the instructions are not binding on the conferees and no point of order would lie against the conference report on the ground that the instructions had been violated. The practices of the House and Senate regarding such motions differ markedly in key respects, including in terms of the frequency and number of motions and the prerogative to offer such motions First, the House resorts to such motions regularly, having considered 18 such motions in 15 of the past 19 years (covering FY1991-FY2009). The House regularly used such motions in earlier years as well. During this period, the Senate instructed its conferees on only three budget resolutions, for FY2000, FY2008, and FY2009. For earlier years, the Senate precedents only cite one instance when budget resolution conferees were instructed (for FY1979, when a simple Senate resolution was used). Second, with a single exception, the House has considered only one motion per budget resolution, while the Senate considered between five and 10 motions each during consideration of the FY2002, FY2008, and FY2009 budget resolutions. The House considered multiple motions in connection with the FY2005 budget resolution. Finally, the House regards the motion to instruct conferees strictly as a prerogative of the minority party, while the Senate does not. Fifteen of the 20 motions considered in the Senate were offered by Members of the minority, but three were offered by the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and two by other Members of the majority. In both chambers, the content of a motion may range from a broad statement of policy to a position focused more narrowly on one or a few issues. The nature of budget resolutions (i.e., largely broad statements of fiscal policy), nevertheless, tends to focus the content of motions to instruct conferees on broader issues. Motions to instruct conferees are amendable in each chamber. During the 19- year period covered in this report, one motion was amended in the House (for FY1992) and an amendment to one motion in the Senate was withdrawn (for FY2000). There is no clear pattern of acceptance or rejection of such motions in the House (eight were agreed to, nine were rejected, and one was vitiated after consideration); in the Senate, 14 of 20 such motions were successful. This report will be updated as developments warrant. Contents Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 House and Senate Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Frequency of Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Number of Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Prerogative to Offer Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Other Procedural Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 List of Tables Table 1. Motions to Instruct House Conferees on Budget Resolutions: FY1991-FY2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Table 2. Motions to Instruct Senate Conferees on Budget Resolutions: FY2000, FY2008, and FY2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees Background The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the House and Senate to reach agreement on at least one budget resolution each year.1 In most years, the House and Senate initially pass separate versions of a budget resolution and then resolve their differences through regular conference procedures, but sometimes the differences have been resolved by means of the two chambers formally exchanging amendments. When a conference procedure is used, both the House and the Senate have procedures whereby the full bodies may issue instructions to conferees on legislation.2 Conferees are expected generally to uphold the positions reflected in the legislation that was passed by the chamber they represent. Motions to instruct the conferees usually urge them to support particular positions taken by their chamber, or urge them to oppose particular positions taken by the other chamber. At the same time, it is understood that conferees must make concessions in order to reach a final compromise. It is not uncommon, therefore, for instructions to urge conferees of one chamber to recede to one or more positions of the other chamber. If a motion (or resolution) instructing conferees is agreed to, the instructions are not binding on the conferees and no point of order would lie against the conference report on the ground that the instructions had been violated.3 As one scholar has noted: ...conferees may disregard the instructions, particularly when they feel the need for room to maneuver or compromise. The full House and Senate still have an opportunity to accept or reject the conference committee report on the bill, and 1 For detailed information regarding the record of experience with budget resolutions, see CRS Report RL30297, Congressional Budget Resolutions: Selected Statistics and Information Guide, by Bill Heniff Jr. and Justin Murray. The House and Senate have adopted at least one budget resolution every year since 1975, except in 1998 (for FY1999), 2002 (for FY2003), 2004 (for FY2005), and 2006 (for FY2007). 2 For information on these procedures generally, see CRS Report RS20209, Instructing Senate Conferees, by Richard S. Beth; and CRS Report 98-381, Instructing House Conferees, by Elizabeth Rybicki. 3 See House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House (108th Cong., 1st sess.) 2003, Chapter 13, Sec. 16, p. 344; and Riddick's Senate Procedure: Precedents and Practices (101st Cong., 2nd sess.), S.Doc. 101-28, 1992, p. 480. CRS-2 a new conference may be requested if either house feels that its conferees have grossly violated their instructions or authority.4 Instructions to conferees on a budget resolution usually are issued in the form of a motion, but in at least one instance the Senate adopted a simple resolution containing such instructions. House and Senate Practices The practices of the House and Senate regarding motions to instruct budget resolution conferees differ markedly in key respects. Some of these differences are discussed below in terms of the frequency and number of motions and the prerogative to offer such motions. Several additional procedural issues also are discussed. Frequency of Motions. The House resorts to such motions regularly while the Senate uses them only occasionally. As Table 1 shows, the House considered 18 such motions in 15 of the last 19 years, covering FY1991-FY2009. (The table lists another motion, for FY2005, that a Member announced he would offer, but the House vitiated the motion before it was considered; accordingly, it is not reflected in the count.) The House regularly used such motions in earlier years as well. With regard to the four years in which the House did not consider a motion to instruct conferees, the House and Senate did not both appoint conferees in three years (for FY1999, FY2003, and FY2007) and did not conclude action on the budget resolution.5 In the remaining year (in 1990 for FY1991), a conference agreement was reached and approved by both chambers in October, following a lengthy budget summit between the administration and Congress. During the 19-year period, the Senate instructed its conferees on only three budget resolution (for FY2000, FY2008, and FY2009), as discussed in more detail below. For earlier years, the Senate precedents cite only one instance when budget resolution conferees were instructed (for FY1979, when a simple Senate resolution was used).6 Number of Motions. The House has considered only one motion per budget resolution, except for FY2005, when four different motions were considered. With regard to FY2005, three of the motions were rejected and the fourth was vitiated after consideration. (As indicated previously, one Member announced his intention to 4 Oleszek, Walter J. Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process (7th ed.). CQ Press (Washington, DC: 2007), p. 267. 5 In the fourth instance in which the House and Senate did not complete action on a budget resolution, conferees reached an agreement in 2003 on the FY2004 budget resolution; the House agreed to the conference report, but the Senate did not consider it. 6 The Senate adopted S.Res. 562 on September 14, 1978, by a vote of 63-21. The measure instructed the Senate conferees on the second budget resolution for FY1979 to insist on the Senate position not to add $2 billion for public works spending. See the remarks of Senator Edmund Muskie and others in the Congressional Record of September 13 and 14, 1978, at pages 29157-29158 and 29391-29403, respectively. CRS-3 offer a fifth motion to instruct conferees on the budget resolution, but that motion was vitiated before it could be considered.) On the three occasions that the Senate considered motions to instruct conferees on a budget resolution, five such motions were considered with respect to FY2000, five with respect to FY2008, and 10 with respect to FY2009 (see Table 2). Prerogative to Offer Motion. The House regards the motion to instruct conferees strictly as a prerogative of the minority party. In 13 of the 14 instances identified in Table 1 when only one motion was considered, the motion was made by the ranking minority member of the House Budget Committee; in the remaining instance, the motion was made by another member of the minority party. With regard to the FY2005 budget resolution, all four of the motions considered were offered by Members of the minority party, two of them serving on the House Budget Committee. (The fifth motion, which was not considered by the House, also was offered by a member of the minority party.) A motion to instruct conferees, however, is subject to amendments offered by members of the majority party, as discussed below. Fifteen of the 20 motions considered in the Senate were offered by Members of the minority, but three were offered by the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and two by other Members of the majority. Other Procedural Issues. In both chambers, the content of a motion may range from a broad statement of policy to a position focused more narrowly on one or a few issues. The nature of budget resolutions (i.e., largely broad statements of fiscal policy), nevertheless, tends to focus the content of motions to instruct conferees on broader issues. A broadly-worded motion offered by Representative John Kasich to the FY1994 budget resolution, for example, instructed the conferees, "to agree to the highest level of deficit reduction, the lowest levels of budget outlays, and the lowest level of revenues within the scope on the conference without resorting to higher taxes on Social Security beneficiaries." In a similar vein, Senator Judd Gregg offered a motion to the FY2009 budget resolution that instructed the conferees "to reject the revenue levels in both the Senate-passed and House-passed budget resolutions, both of which assume the largest tax increase in history, and include revenue levels consistent with the extension of the tax rates currently in place." A more narrowly drawn motion, offered by Representative Willis Gradison to the FY1990 budget resolution, instructed the conferees "to agree to Senate provision relating to the adoption of a joint resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced budget." In the case of the FY2009 budget resolution, Senator Kent Conrad offered a motion that instructed the conferees "to insist that the revenue levels in the resolution include the cost of providing relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2008." While motions to instruct usually are briefly stated, they may involve more lengthy and complex instructions. A motion to instruct conferees on the FY2006 budget resolution offered in the House by Representative Stephanie Herseth, for CRS-4 example, contained several components dealing with the Medicaid program. Under the motion, the conferees were instructed: (1) to recede to the following findings of the Senate: (A) Medicaid provides essential health care and long-term care services to more than 50 million low- income children, pregnant women, parents, individuals with disabilities, and senior citizens; and (B) Medicaid is a Federal guarantee that ensures the most vulnerable will have access to needed medical services; (2) to strike reconciliation instructions to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and recede to the Senate by including language declaring that a reconciliation bill shall not be reported that achieves spending reductions that would (A) undermine the role the Medicaid program plays as a critical component of the health care system of the United States; (B) cap Federal Medicaid spending, or otherwise shift Medicaid cost burdens to State or local governments and their taxpayers and health providers; or (C) undermine the Federal guarantee of health insurance coverage Medicaid provides, which would threaten not only the health care safety net of the United States, but the entire health care system; (3) to recede to the Senate on section 310 (entitled "Reserve Fund for the Bipartisan Medicaid Commission") of the Senate amendment; and (4) to make adjustments necessary to offset the cost of these instructions without resulting in any increase in the deficit for any fiscal year covered by the resolution.7 Further, motions to instruct conferees are amendable in each chamber. During the 19-year period covered in this report, one motion was amended in the House (for FY1992) and an amendment to one motion in the Senate was withdrawn (for FY2000). In the House, a motion offered by Representative Willis Gradison (the ranking minority member of the House Budget Committee) regarding the FY1992 budget resolution was amended by a substitute offered by Representative Leon Panetta (the chairman of the House Budget Committee). In the Senate, Senator Pete Domenici (the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee) offered an amendment to a motion offered by Senator Edward Kennedy, but then withdrew it. Finally, the pattern of acceptance or rejection of such motions differs somewhat by chamber.8 Of the 17 motions decided by a vote in the House, eight were approved and nine were rejected.9 The eight motions approved were decided either by a voice vote or a strong affirmative vote (the smallest margin of victory was 256 votes). The nine motions that failed were decided by much closer margins, averaging 18 votes (the closest vote failed on a 209-209 tie). 7 See the Congressional Record, daily ed., vol. 151, April 26, 2005, p. H2509. 8 For commentary on how Members sometimes perceive acceptance or rejection of a motion to instruct conferees, see (1) Mark Wegner and Bill Ghent, "House Lawmakers Spin on Budget Vote to Instruct Conferees," National Journal's CongressDaily AM, April 2, 2003; and (2) Bud Newman and Brett Ferguson, "Budget Conference to Begin April 2 Amid Differences on Taxes, Spending," BNA Daily Report for Executives, April 2, 2003, page G- 7. 9 One of the 18 motions listed in Table 1 was considered but not voted on. On May 19, 2004, the Speaker announced that the motion to instruct conferees offered by Representative Stenholm and debated by the House the previous day was vitiated; see the Congressional Record (daily ed.), vol. 150, May 19, 2004, p. H3259. CRS-5 In the Senate, a higher proportion of the motions -- 14 of 20 -- were agreed to. Six of the 14 motions agreed to were decided by rollcall vote, with the margin of victory averaging 30 votes but ranging from as few as seven votes to as many as 98 votes. The remaining eight successful motions were decided by voice vote (seven instances) or unanimous consent (one instance). All six of the motions that were rejected were decided by rollcall vote, with the margin of defeat averaging 10 votes but ranging from a single vote to as many as 27 votes. One of the rejections occurred on a motion to table (approved by a vote of 54- 45). CRS-6 Table 1. Motions to Instruct House Conferees on Budget Resolutions: FY1991-FY2009 Fiscal Congress/ H. Con. Sponsor of Date of Year Session Res. Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action 1991 101st, 2nd 310 -- [none] -- -- -- 1992 102nd, 1st 121 Gradison a To ensure that within the reserve Agreed to Voice 05-09-91 fund areas specified in the Senate amendment , pay-as-you-go legislation will not harm working families and Medicare beneficiaries, and will adhere to the 1990 budget process agreement between President Bush and the Congress. a 1993 102nd, 2nd 287 Gradison To agree to Senate provision relating Agreed to 322-66 05-06-92 to the adoption of a joint resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced budget. 1994 103rd, 1st 64 Kasich To agree to the highest level of Agreed to 413-0 03-25-93 deficit reduction, the lowest levels of budget outlays, and the lowest level of revenues within the scope on the conference without resorting to higher taxes on Social Security beneficiaries. 1995 103rd, 2nd 218 Kasich To agree to Senate provisions: Rejected 202-216 04-14-94 reflecting a $26 billion five-year deficit reduction by agreeing to reduce the total spending levels specified in the House-passed resolution by specified amounts; and providing no further cuts in defense spending if the President's defense budget request is approved. CRS-7 Fiscal Congress/ H. Con. Sponsor of Date of Year Session Res. Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action 1996 104th, 1st 67 Sabo To agree to revenue levels (within Rejected 183-233 06-08-95 the scope of the conference) that exclude the revenue effects of the Contract With America Tax Relief Act and insist on House position regarding the Earned Income Tax Credit. 1997 104th, 2nd 178 Sabo To agree to Senate provisions on: Rejected 187-205 05-30-96 levels of discretionary spending; "balance billing" of Medicare patients by health care providers; federal nursing home quality standards; and protection under the Medicaid program against spousal impoverishment. 1998 105th, 1st 84 Spratt To agree to Senate provisions on Agreed to Voice 06-03-97 limiting 10-year net cost of tax cuts to $250 billion and fair distribution of tax cuts. 1999 105th, 2nd 284 -- [none] -- -- -- 2000 106th, 1st 68 Spratt To insist that tax cuts set forth in the Agreed to 349-44 04-12-99 reconciliation directives in the concurrent resolution be reported at the latest possible date within the scope of the conference and to require that the reconciliation legislation implementing these tax cuts not be reported any earlier to provide Congress with time to first enact legislation extending the solvency of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. CRS-8 Fiscal Congress/ H. Con. Sponsor of Date of Year Session Res. Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action 2001 106th, 2nd 290 Spratt To insist that reconciliation Rejected 198-210 04-10-00 legislation implementing tax cuts be reported no earlier than September 22, 2000, thereby allowing time to enact legislation establishing a universal prescription drug benefit, and that the House recede to the lower tax cuts in the Senate amendment. 2002 107th, 1st 83 Spratt To increase the funding for Rejected 200-207 04-24-01 education in the House resolution to provide for the maximum feasible funding, provide that the costs for coverage of prescription drugs under Medicare not be taken from the surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, increase the funding provided for Medicare prescription drug coverage to the level set by the Senate amendment, and insist that the on-budget surplus set forth in the budget resolution for any fiscal year not be less than the surplus of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for that year. 2003 107th, 2nd 353 -- b [none] b -- -- -- 2004 108th, 1st 95 Spratt To (1) eliminate the reconciliation Agreed to 399-22 04-01-03 instruction to the Committees on Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans' Affairs, and Ways and Means contained in section 201(b) of the House resolution; (2) recede CRS-9 Fiscal Congress/ H. Con. Sponsor of Date of Year Session Res. Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action to the Senate on section 319 (entitled "Reserve Fund to Strengthen Social Security") of the Senate amendment; and (3) adjust the revenue levels by the amounts needed to offset the cost of the instructions set forth in (1) and (2), without resulting in any increase in the deficit or reduction in surplus for any fiscal year covered by the resolution. 2005 108th, 2nd 95 Thompson To recede to the Senate on the Rejected 209-209 03-30-04 (S.Con. (CA) provisions contained in section 408 Res.) of the Senate concurrent resolution (relating to the pay-as-you-go point of order made applicable to all legislation increasing the deficit as a result of direct spending increases or tax cuts). Moore [same as above] Rejected 208-215 05-05-04 Pomeroy [same as above] Rejected 207-211 05-12-04 Stenholm To reject provisions that provide for Considered -- 05-19-04 an increase in the statutory debt but vitiated c limit. Price [same as Thompson, Moore, and Vitiated d -- 05-19-04 Pomeroy motions] (not considered) CRS-10 Fiscal Congress/ H. Con. Sponsor of Date of Year Session Res. Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action 2006 109th, 1st 95 Herseth To (1) recede to certain findings of Agreed to 348-72 04-26-05 the Senate with regard to the Medicaid program; (2) strike reconciliation instructions to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and recede to the Senate by including language declaring that a reconciliation bill shall not be reported that achieves spending reductions that would (A) undermine the role the Medicaid program plays as a critical component of the health care system of the United States; (B) cap Federal Medicaid spending, or otherwise shift Medicaid cost burdens to State or local governments and their taxpayers and health providers; or (C) undermine the Federal guarantee of health insurance coverage Medicaid provides, which would threaten not only the health care safety net of the United States, but the entire health care system; (3) recede to the Senate on section 310 (entitled "Reserve Fund for the Bipartisan Medicaid Commission") of the Senate amendment; and (4) make adjustments necessary to offset the cost of these instructions without resulting in any increase in the deficit for any fiscal year covered by the resolution. 2007 109th, 2nd 376 -- b [none] b -- -- -- CRS-11 Fiscal Congress/ H. Con. Sponsor of Date of Year Session Res. Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action 2008 110th, 1st 99 Ryan To (A) recede from the revenue Agreed to 364-57 05-08-07 levels set forth in the House amendment; insist on the policy statement in section 401 of the House amendment to support the extension of such tax provisions as the child tax credit, extension of marriage penalty relief, extension of the 10 percent individual income tax bracket, extension of the research and experimentation tax credit, extension of the deduction for State and local sales taxes; and recede to section 210 of the Senate resolution which prohibits consideration of an increase in Federal income tax rates; (B) insist on the lowest possible levels of revenue within the scope of the conference in fiscal years 2011 and 2012; and make any commensurate adjustments in outlay levels; and (C) set forth a unified surplus of at least $96 billion in FY2012 in resolving the differences between section 101(4) of the House amendment and section 101(4) of the Senate resolution. CRS-12 Fiscal Congress/ H. Con. Sponsor of Date of Year Session Res. Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action 2009 110th, 2nd 70 Ryan To increase negative budget Rejected 185-229 05-14-08 (S.Con. authority and outlays in section Res.) 101(19), function 920 (Allowances) of the House amendment, by $2.02 billion over the period of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 (to increase the receipt levels in the final budget resolution by expanding leasing in Federal areas in the West, in the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in an environmentally sound manner). Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service using data from the Legislative Information System. a. The Gradison motion was amended by a Panetta substitute. The House failed, by a vote of 132-284, to move the previous question on the original Gradison motion. b. The House and Senate did not reach the conference stage during consideration of the FY2003 or the FY2007 budget resolutions. c. On May 19, 2004, the Speaker announced that the motion to instruct conferees offered by Representative Stenholm and debated by the House the previous day was vitiated; see the Congressional Record (daily ed.), vol. 150, May 19, 2004, p. H3259. d. On May 18, 2004, Representative Price, pursuant to House Rule XXII, Clause 7(c), announced his intention to offer a motion to instruct conferees on the budget resolution. The next day, the Speaker announced that the motion (which the House had not considered) was vitiated; see the Congressional Record (daily ed.), vol. 150, May 19, 2004, p. H3259. CRS-13 Table 2. Motions to Instruct Senate Conferees on Budget Resolutions: FY2000, FY2008, and FY2009 Sponsor of Date of Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action FY2000 Budget Resolution (H.Con.Res. 68, 106th Cong., 1st sess.) Lautenberg To include in the conference report provisions that would reserve all Agreed to 98-0 04-13-99 Social Security surpluses only for Social Security, and not for other programs (including other retirement programs) or tax cuts. Domenici To include in the conference report a Roth/Breaux modified amendment Agreed to 57-42 04-13-99 regarding Medicare reform and a section of the Senate-passed budget resolution regarding the use of on-budget surpluses for a prescription drug benefit. Dodd To include in the conference report a Dodd/Jeffords modified amendment Agreed to 66-33 04-13-99 to provide for an increase in the mandatory spending in the Child Care and Development Block Grant. Dorgan To include in the conference report provisions that would provide Agreed to Voice 04-13-99 additional funding for income assistance for family farmers above the vote level provided in the Senate-passed resolution. Kennedy To include in the conference report provisions that would allow targeted Rejected 54-45 04-13-99 tax relief for low- and middle-income working families, and reserve a (tabled) sufficient portion of projected non-Social Security surpluses to extend significantly the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and modernize and strengthen the program. a CRS-14 Sponsor of Date of Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action FY2008 Budget Resolution (S.Con.Res. 21, 110th Cong., 1st sess.) Kyl To insist that the final conference report include the Senate position to Agreed to 54-41 05-09-07 provide for a reduction in revenues, sufficient to accommodate legislation to provide for permanent death tax relief, with a top marginal rate of no higher than 35%, a lower rate for smaller estates, and with a meaningful exemption that shields smaller estates from having to file estate tax returns, and to permanently extend other family tax relief, so that American families, including farmers and small business owners, can continue to enjoy higher after-tax levels of income, increasing standards of living, and a growing economy, as contained in the recommended levels and amounts of Title I of S.Con.Res. 21, as passed by the Senate. Gregg To reject the House amendment that assumes a $916 billion tax increase, Rejected 44-51 05-09-07 the largest tax increase in U.S. history, and insist that the final conference report include in the recommend levels and amounts in Title I of S.Con.Res. 21, reductions in revenues commensurate with extending the existing tax policy: $1,000 child tax credit; marriage penalty relief; 10% income tax bracket -- so those earning $15,000 or less continue to benefit from low tax rate; lower marginal rates for American families and small businesses (15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35%); Earned Income Tax Credit relief for military families; adoption tax credit; dependent care tax credit; college tuition deduction; deduction for student loan interest; $2,000 Coverdell Education IRA; 15% rate on capital gains and dividends; and death tax repeal. Conrad To (A) insist on the Senate amendment with regard to relief, which cuts Agreed to 51-44 05-09-07 taxes in the resolution by $180 billion to provide for extension of the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, and ten-percent bracket; reform of the estate tax to protect small businesses and family farms; extension of the adoption tax credit, dependent care tax credit, treatment of combat pay for purposes of EITC; and other tax relief; (B) insist on Section 303 of the Senate resolution that provides for tax relief, including extensions of expiring tax relief and refundable tax relief, provided that such legislation would not increase the deficit over the total of the period of fiscal years 2007-2012; and (C) insist on the Senate position that any additional revenues to CRS-15 Sponsor of Date of Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action meet these tax policies are achieved by closing the tax gap, shutting down abusive tax shelters, addressing offshore tax havens, and without raising taxes. Stabenow To insist on including the Deficit-Neutral Reserve Fund for Energy Agreed to Voice 05-09-07 Legislation in Section 307 of S.Con.Res. 21, as passed by the Senate. vote Cornyn To insist that the final conference report include the supermajority point Agreed to Voice 05-09-07 of order against consideration of any bill, resolution, amendment, vote amendment between Houses, motion, or conference report that includes a Federal income tax rate increase, in order to protect the pocketbooks of working and middle-class families, college students, seniors, farmers, small business owners and entrepreneurs, and to promote the elimination of government waste, fraud, and abuse to reduce the deficit and offset new spending, as contained in section 210 of S.Con.Res. 21, as passed by the Senate. FY2009 Budget Resolution (S.Con.Res. 70, 110th Cong., 2nd sess.) Gregg To insist on the inclusion in the final conference report the point of order Agreed to Voice 05-15-08 against the consideration of a budget resolution in the Senate that does vote not contain a section regarding gross federal debt disclosure as contained in section 223 of the concurrent resolution as passed by the Senate, and further, that the conferees be instructed to include a debt disclosure section in the final conference report that itemizes the overall debt increase and the per person debt increase assumed by the final conference report. Gregg To insist that the final conference report include the individual points of Agreed to Unan- 05-15-08 order that empower the Senate to prevent future budget resolutions from imous raiding Social Security, enforces transparency during Senate consent consideration of the congressional budget by requiring disclosure of the gross federal debt held by the nation, strengthens the integrity of the reconciliation process, and provides an additional tool to thwart any net increases in deficits in the long term (four ten year periods after 2018), as contained in sections 226, 223/224, 202, and 201, respectively, of the concurrent resolution passed by the Senate. CRS-16 Sponsor of Date of Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action Conrad To insist that the revenue levels in the resolution include the cost of Agreed to Voice 05-15-08 providing relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2008. vote Kyl To reject the House amendment that assumes $110 billion in tax increases Agreed to Voice 05-15-08 as a result of having to offset the extension of tax policies that expired at vote the end of 2007 and will expire at the end of 2008 (including the AMT patch, the research and experimentation tax credit, the state and local sales tax deduction, the combat pay earned income tax credit, education tax credits, at the alternative energy tax credits) and insist that the final conference report include in the recommended levels and amounts in Title I reductions in revenues commensurate with extending these tax policies without offsetting tax increases. Gregg To insist on the inclusion in the final conference report section 311 of Agreed to Voice 05-15-08 (for Graham) S.Con.Res. 70, the deficit neutral reserve fund to improve energy vote efficiency and production, as passed by the Senate, and that such section include an additional requirement that the legislation also encourages the removal of existing barriers to building new zero-emission nuclear power plants in the United States. Boxer To insist that no legislation providing for new mandates on greenhouse Agreed to 55-40 05-15-08 gas emissions should be enacted until it effectively addresses imports from China, India and other nations that have no similar emissions programs. Gregg To reject the revenue levels in both the Senate-passed and the Rejected 44-51 05-15-08 House-passed budget resolutions, both of which assume the largest tax increase in history, and include revenue levels consistent with extension of the tax rates currently in place. CRS-17 Sponsor of Date of Motion Nature of Instruction Disposition Vote Action DeMint To insist that if the final conference report includes section 304 of the Rejected 34-61 05-15-08 concurrent resolution, the deficit neutral reserve fund to invest in clean energy, preserve the environment and provide for certain settlements, as passed by the Senate, that such section shall include an additional requirement that legislation providing for new mandates on greenhouse gas emissions that would harm the United States economy or result in a loss of jobs should not be enacted unless similar mandates are enacted by China and India. Vitter To insist that the conference report include a reserve fund that requires Rejected 44-51 05-15-08 the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Budget to adjust budget aggregates and the allocation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, if the Senate considers legislation that allows a governor, with the concurrence of the state legislature to petition for increased energy exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf and that allows for revenue sharing for such producing states on new areas of production and new leases made available, if the average price of regular gasoline in the United States reaches $5 per gallon. Gregg To insist that the final conference report include a level for 2009 budget Rejected 47-48 05-15-08 authority not to exceed $1 trillion for non-emergency discretionary appropriations. Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service using data from the Legislative Information System. a. A Domenici amendment to this motion was withdrawn. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For other versions of this document, see http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RL31840