Congressional Budget Resolutions: Motions to Instruct Conferees

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 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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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).

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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
a me n d m e n t , p a y-a s -yo u -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

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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)

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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
—
—
—

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.