Legislative Action Center > Budget Fight FY 2007

The Budget Process
Each year, Congress passes a budget resolution that establishes a framework for government spending and revenues for the upcoming year. Learn about the Federal Budget Process and see a Glossary of Terms.

Latest Budget News:

May 1, 2009 - Congress Passes FY2010 Budget; Sets Stage for Child Nutrition Reauthorization

On Wednesday, Congress passed its $3.5 trillion FY2010 federal budget. The spending plan provides an increase from FY 2009 funding (although $10 billion below the President's request for non-defense domestic discretionary funding). The funding is critical for programs such as:

• WIC
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) storage and distribution,
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP),
• Congressional Hunger Center Emerson/Leland Hunger Fellows,
• and housing, home energy assistance, education, and other human needs programs.

Passage of the Budget Conference Report allows the Appropriations Committee to allocate funding for its 12 subcommittees and also paves the way for the Senate Agriculture and House Education and Labor Committees to begin child nutrition reauthorization.

The Budget contains Deficit-Neutral Reserve Funds for child nutrition reauthorization, providing that any new program costs will have to be "paid for"--either through cuts in spending to programs within the authorizing committees' jurisdictions (House Education and Labor and Senate Agriculture) or through raising new revenues (under the jurisdiction of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees).

The final budget resolution also includes 'reconciliation instructions,' which would allow healthcare and education measures to proceed in the Senate with a simple majority, rather than the usual 60 votes needed to cut off debate in the Senate.

• House vote: 233-193
  Click here to see roll call.
• Senate vote: 53-43
  Click here to see the roll call.

April 3, 2009 - House and Senate Pass 2010 Budget Resolutions

• House vote: 233 to 196. Twenty Democrats and all House Republicans voted against the measure; the House rejected a Republican alternative sponsored by Representative Ryan (R-WI) that, among other things, would have frozen domestic discretionary spending.
  Click here for the roll call votes.
  Click here for the roll call votes on the Ryan alternative.


• Senate vote: 55 to 32, two Democrats (Senators Bayh (IN) and Nelson (NE)) joined all Republicans in opposing the measure. The Senate rejected an amendment to "recommit" the budget back to the Senate Budget Committee by Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE), which would have frozen domestic discretionary spending.
  Click here to see how the Senate voted.
  Click here for the Johanns motion.

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