Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees

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 19year 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 lowincome 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 G7.

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 5445).

CRS-6

Table 1. Motions to Instruct House Conferees on Budget Resolutions: FY1991-FY2009

Fiscal

Year

Congress/

Session

H. Con.

Res.

Sponsor of

Motion

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

1991

101st, 2nd

310

—

—

—

—

1992

102nd, 1st

121

Gradison a

To ensure that within the reserve

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

Agreed to

Voice

05-09-91

1993

102nd, 2nd

287

Gradison

To agree to Senate provision relating

to the adoption of a joint resolution

to amend the U.S. Constitution to

require a balanced budget.

Agreed to

322-66

05-06-92

1994

103rd, 1st

64

Kasich

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.

Agreed to

413-0

03-25-93

1995

103rd, 2nd

218

Kasich

To agree to Senate provisions:

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.

Rejected

202-216

04-14-94

Nature of Instruction

[none]

CRS-7

Fiscal

Year

Congress/

Session

H. Con.

Res.

Sponsor of

Motion

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

1996

104th, 1st

67

Sabo

To agree to revenue levels (within

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.

Rejected

183-233

06-08-95

1997

104th, 2nd

178

Sabo

To agree to Senate provisions on:

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.

Rejected

187-205

05-30-96

1998

105th, 1st

84

Spratt

To agree to Senate provisions on

limiting 10-year net cost of tax cuts

to $250 billion and fair distribution

of tax cuts.

Agreed to

Voice

06-03-97

1999

105th, 2nd

284

—

[none]

—

—

—

2000

106th, 1st

68

Spratt

To insist that tax cuts set forth in the

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.

Agreed to

349-44

04-12-99

CRS-8

Fiscal

Year

Congress/

Session

H. Con.

Res.

Sponsor of

Motion

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

2001

106th, 2nd

290

Spratt

To insist that reconciliation

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.

Rejected

198-210

04-10-00

2002

107th, 1st

83

Spratt

To increase the funding for

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.

Rejected

200-207

04-24-01

2003

107th, 2nd

353

— b

[none] b

—

—

—

2004

108th, 1st

95

Spratt

To (1) eliminate the reconciliation

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

Agreed to

399-22

04-01-03

CRS-9

Fiscal

Year

Congress/

Session

H. Con.

Res.

Sponsor of

Motion

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

To recede to the Senate on the

provisions contained in section 408

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).

Rejected

209-209

03-30-04

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

an increase in the statutory debt

limit.

Considered

but vitiated c

—

05-19-04

Price

[same as Thompson, Moore, and

Pomeroy motions]

Vitiated d

(not

considered)

—

05-19-04

Nature of Instruction

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

(S.Con.

Res.)

Thompson

(CA)

CRS-10

Fiscal

Year

Congress/

Session

H. Con.

Res.

Sponsor of

Motion

2006

109th, 1st

95

Herseth

2007

109th, 2nd

376

— b

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

To (1) recede to certain findings of

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.

Agreed to

348-72

04-26-05

—

—

—

[none] b

CRS-11

Fiscal

Year

Congress/

Session

H. Con.

Res.

Sponsor of

Motion

2008

110th, 1st

99

Ryan

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

To (A) recede from the revenue

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.

Agreed to

364-57

05-08-07

CRS-12

Fiscal

Year

Congress/

Session

H. Con.

Res.

Sponsor of

Motion

2009

110th, 2nd

70

(S.Con.

Res.)

Ryan

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

To increase negative budget

authority and outlays in section

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).

Rejected

185-229

05-14-08

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

Motion

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

FY2000 Budget Resolution (H.Con.Res. 68, 106th Cong., 1st sess.)

Lautenberg

To include in the conference report provisions that would reserve all

Social Security surpluses only for Social Security, and not for other

programs (including other retirement programs) or tax cuts.

Agreed to

98-0

04-13-99

Domenici

To include in the conference report a Roth/Breaux modified amendment

regarding Medicare reform and a section of the Senate-passed budget

resolution regarding the use of on-budget surpluses for a prescription

drug benefit.

Agreed to

57-42

04-13-99

Dodd

To include in the conference report a Dodd/Jeffords modified amendment

to provide for an increase in the mandatory spending in the Child Care

and Development Block Grant.

Agreed to

66-33

04-13-99

Dorgan

To include in the conference report provisions that would provide

additional funding for income assistance for family farmers above the

level provided in the Senate-passed resolution.

Agreed to

Voice

vote

04-13-99

Kennedy

To include in the conference report provisions that would allow targeted

tax relief for low- and middle-income working families, and reserve a

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

Rejected

(tabled)

54-45

04-13-99

CRS-14

Sponsor of

Motion

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

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

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.

Agreed to

54-41

05-09-07

Gregg

To reject the House amendment that assumes a $916 billion tax increase,

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.

Rejected

44-51

05-09-07

Conrad

To (A) insist on the Senate amendment with regard to relief, which cuts

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

Agreed to

51-44

05-09-07

CRS-15

Sponsor of

Motion

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

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

Legislation in Section 307 of S.Con.Res. 21, as passed by the Senate.

Agreed to

Voice

vote

05-09-07

Cornyn

To insist that the final conference report include the supermajority point

of order against consideration of any bill, resolution, amendment,

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.

Agreed to

Voice

vote

05-09-07

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

against the consideration of a budget resolution in the Senate that does

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.

Agreed to

Voice

vote

05-15-08

Gregg

To insist that the final conference report include the individual points of

order that empower the Senate to prevent future budget resolutions from

raiding Social Security, enforces transparency during Senate

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.

Agreed to

Unanimous

consent

05-15-08

CRS-16

Sponsor of

Motion

Date of

Action

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Conrad

To insist that the revenue levels in the resolution include the cost of

providing relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2008.

Agreed to

Voice

vote

05-15-08

Kyl

To reject the House amendment that assumes $110 billion in tax increases

as a result of having to offset the extension of tax policies that expired at

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.

Agreed to

Voice

vote

05-15-08

Gregg

(for Graham)

To insist on the inclusion in the final conference report section 311 of

S.Con.Res. 70, the deficit neutral reserve fund to improve energy

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.

Agreed to

Voice

vote

05-15-08

Boxer

To insist that no legislation providing for new mandates on greenhouse

gas emissions should be enacted until it effectively addresses imports

from China, India and other nations that have no similar emissions

programs.

Agreed to

55-40

05-15-08

Gregg

To reject the revenue levels in both the Senate-passed and the

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.

Rejected

44-51

05-15-08

CRS-17

Sponsor of

Motion

Nature of Instruction

Disposition

Vote

Date of

Action

DeMint

To insist that if the final conference report includes section 304 of the

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.

Rejected

34-61

05-15-08

Vitter

To insist that the conference report include a reserve fund that requires

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.

Rejected

44-51

05-15-08

Gregg

To insist that the final conference report include a level for 2009 budget

authority not to exceed $1 trillion for non-emergency discretionary

appropriations.

Rejected

47-48

05-15-08

Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service using data from the Legislative Information System.

a. A Domenici amendment to this motion was withdrawn.