Democratic leaders say adopting an annual budget resolution is one of the most basic functions of government — yet they could well fail that test during their first year back in control of one of the chambers of Congress.
Two months into their new majority, the party is riven by disagreement over how far to go on liberal activists’ wish list, and the budget is proving to be a key battleground.
Including the Green New Deal or a universal, government-sponsored health program would thrill the left, but the costs and trade-offs could be devastating to more moderate Democrats worried about re-election in 2020.
“I think we’re sort of working through the budget resolution issues right now, and it’s going to be tough,” said Rep. Daniel T. Kildee, Democrats’ chief deputy whip.
A decision on whether to try to get a budget through the full House will have to come soon, said Budget Committee Chairman John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky Democrat.
“Last time we put a Democratic budget on the floor, we got 140 votes, so getting 218 is a challenge,” he said, referring to 2017, when Democrats were in the minority and wrote an alternative to Republicans’ budget.
Now in the majority, getting unanimity could be even tougher.
Mr. Yarmuth has said he’s aiming to write a budget plan before the House breaks for two weeks in mid-April, though party leaders ultimately will determine whether it will be considered on the floor.
Republicans said Democrats’ failure to adopt a budget would show they aren’t capable of governing.
“You need to be able to write a budget that can bring your party together because it has to be passed with just your own votes,” said Rep. Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican. “I understand how challenging that is, but for a new majority to not be able to pass a budget to embody its vision — I mean, that’s pretty bad.”
News of Democrats’ recent budget woes was first reported by Politico.
In 2007, the previous time Democrats wrested control of the House from Republicans, they agreed to a budget by the end of March.
In 2011, after the Republicans won control back, the full House adopted a budget in April. But they were unable to get a final agreement with the Senate, still controlled by Democrats.
This time it’s the GOP that controls the Senate and Democrats who have the House.
Congress is supposed to adopt a budget by April 15 every year, but lawmakers haven’t met that target since 2003 and there’s no real penalty for missing it.
The nonbinding resolutions don’t actually fund the government, though the process is supposed to provide benchmarks for Congress’ appropriations committees to work from when those members do write the annual spending bills.
Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger said coalescing around a budget is less important than moving forward on next year’s appropriations bills, which are likely to be more difficult to reconcile with the Senate versions in the new era of divided government.
“The most important thing we’re trying to do is finish our appropriations process on time at the end of June,” said Mr. Ruppersberger, Maryland Democrat. “The budget is a messaging process.”
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer was noncommittal when asked about the budget recently, saying he didn’t want to prejudge what Mr. Yarmuth and committee members planned to do.
In the past he’d been one of the most loudest pro-budget voices, calling it “the most basic responsibility of governing.”
Rep. Steve Womack, who was the GOP chairman of the Budget Committee last year, says he sympathizes with Mr. Yarmuth — to a point.
“I want you to know I feel your pain. I’ve been there,” he said. “But it’s like asking if we’re going to do our jobs.”
In the Senate, Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, Wyoming Republican, is planning to hold a vote on a 2020 budget plan this month. But it’s unclear whether Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will want to devote any floor time to that blueprint.
Like Mr. Ruppersberger, Sen. David Perdue said he would prefer moving straight into the 2020 appropriations process.
The Georgia Republican said lawmakers have less time than they might think to get the 2020 spending bills done before an Oct. 1 deadline, once they factor in how much time they’re scheduled to spend outside of Washington, D.C. on recess in the coming months.
“The process of moving through a budget right now, [in] the Senate anyway, is an academic process — we don’t have time for it,” said Mr. Perdue, a member of the budget committee. “We ought to get started appropriating right now.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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