Senate Approves $2.36 Trillion Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Resolution Without Health-Related Amendments

The Senate on Friday morning voted 52-45 to approve a $2.36 trillion fiscal year 2005 budget resolution (S Con Res 95), after lawmakers rejected "a mountain of Democrat amendments," some of which would have reduced tax cuts and shifted the funds to health care and other programs, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. The budget resolution would maintain current appropriation levels for most domestic programs. The House Budget Committee this week began to consider a similar $2.41 trillion FY 2005 budget resolution. According to the AP/Chronicle, the budget resolution would "cull savings from benefits that could include Medicaid" (AP/Houston Chronicle, 3/12). The committee this week rejected an amendment to the budget resolution proposed by Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) that would have counted funds that federal health care programs save from the importation of prescription drugs from other nations as income (Gruenwald et al., CongressDaily, 3/12).