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The Senate Budget Committee approved its FY 2008 Budget Resolution this week, rejecting many of the harsh cuts to domestic programs such as Medicare and Medicaid that were requested in the President's budget. Senate Budget Committee Chairman, Kent Conrad (D-ND) offered a $2.96 trillion budget blueprint that would set FY 2008 discretionary spending at $948.8 billion, plus an additional $2 billion in "advanced appropriations." This is $18 billion above the discretionary spending level requested by President Bush. The resolution provides $43.1 billion for veterans' benefits over five years - $3.5 billion more than the President requested in his budget request. Additionally, the Chairman budget did not include the President's proposal to increase TRICARE co-payments. The proposed budget resolution would also allow up to $50 billion over five years in increases to the SCHIP program, $15 of which come from unspecified Medicare cuts. The other $35 billion could be established in the form of a reserve fund and would require finding offsets. Chairman Conrad's proposed $15 billion in Medicare cuts stands in stark contrast to the $65 billion proposed by the President in his FY 2008 budget request. Other proposals include the creation of a deficit-neutral "comparative effectiveness" reserve fund to evaluate the effectiveness or costs of medical devices, technologies, pharmaceuticals or treatments and $383 million to fight fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program. Chairman Conrad's budget projects a surplus of $132 billion by 2012, placing much emphasis on pay-as-you-go budget rules and tax enforcement initiatives. But such calculations have been heavily criticized by his Republican colleagues who state the budget proposal relies too heavily on unspecified revenues and does not go far enough in controlling entitlement spending. The Senate Budget Committee approved the measure late Thursday afternoon along party lines and the measure now heads to the Senate floor for debate. The House Budget Committee is expected to consider its Budget resolution next week.
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