Senate Unveils FY-11 Budget Resolution

Despite concerns that a budget resolution could make promises related to fiscal constraint that Congress is unlikely to keep, the Senate Budget Committee has marked up a budget resolution for FY-11 this week.  The resolution is an annual nonbinding list of recommended spending priorities and strategies designed to help the Appropriations Committees share out their funding allocations across the 12 designated subcommittees.

This year’s budget resolution puts a freeze on all non-defense discretionary spending for the next three years and, while generally supporting the Administration’s preferred spending approach, goes even farther to propose chopping an additional $4 billion from the FY-11 budget request.  The FY-11 resolution authorizes a total of $1.124 trillion in discretionary spending for FY-11.  Of particular interest to state drinking water programs, the measure does specifically recommend a combined funding level of $3.5 billion for DWSRF and CWSRF programs.

The resolution’s overarching goal is to cut the Federal deficit nearly in half (from $1.4 trillion to about $545 billion) by 2015.  According to Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-ND), “Our budget plan significantly cuts spending and deficits and takes critical steps to put the nation back on a sound fiscal course.  It includes measures to strengthen the economic recovery.  It cuts taxes for the middle class. And it invests in education and energy to lay the foundation for long-term economic security.”