Budget elbows

The usual rules for budget debate are out the window this year.

Normally, the majority party in each chamber, guided by leadership officials and Budget panel chairmen, puts out its respective blueprint, and partisan battles ensue. 

{mosads}In 2011, instead, everyone is getting into the act and lawmakers on the same side of the aisle are elbowing each other for position.

On Tuesday, freshman Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) unveiled a new GOP budget plan that is backed by Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and others in the GOP conference.

It is unclear if Toomey’s proposal will take off, but it is worth noting that a freshman is making a play for the budget spotlight.

Toomey’s plan differs significantly from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) in that it does not call for major changes to Medicare.

Ryan’s Medicare provisions attracted a lot of criticism during the spring recess, and GOP leaders in the lower chamber indicate they don’t plan to move a Medicare bill through the House soon.

Republican leaders explain their retreat by saying the White House and Democratic-led Senate have already balked at the Medicare language. That is true, but how many bills get passed by the House despite having no chance of enactment? The answer is, plenty.

The 2012 election is 18 months away, but already there is a frisson of campaign awareness in the halls of Congress. House Republicans want to preserve their majority. And the GOP has a good shot at winning control of the Senate.

Before he released his plan, Ryan said he knew he was giving Democrats political ammunition. And his opponents have thanked him publicly for providing it and increasing their chance of winning back the House.

While there is a split between House and Senate Republicans on the budget, Democrats have also seen their share of friendly fire.

Twenty-three Democrats voted against Budget Committee ranking member Chris Van Hollen’s (D-Md.) plan last month.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a crucial vote on the Budget panel, has expressed concerns about committee Chairman Kent Conrad’s (D-N.D.) measure, which has not been released yet. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) voiced strong opposition to a bill from Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) that would cap spending. 

Meanwhile, the bipartisan Gang of Six budget plan has not emerged, a clear sign that it might never do so.

The bottom line is that there are many budget plans, but none yet has the votes to pass. If any proposal catches fire, it will be relevant in White House discussions about raising the debt ceiling. And the author of that plan will have a coveted seat at the table.