"The Senate’s chief referee has issued a key ruling against Majority Leader
Harry Reid,
POLITICO has learned — a move expected to bring unwanted election-year
pressure on the Nevada Democrat to act on politically dicey budget
bills.
Newly appointed Parliamentarian
Elizabeth MacDonough, whom Reid recommended for the job, has decided
that last summer’s deal on the debt ceiling and spending caps does not
preclude the Senate from taking up other budget resolutions this year.
The ruling could force vulnerable Democrats to cast tough votes that
hurt them in November, a situation Reid and other leaders are eager to
avoid as they work to protect their fragile majority."
"Democratic aides have dismissed the ruling as irrelevant, arguing that
the historic debt deal already serves as a legally binding budget."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cnn reports
May 16, 2012|From Ted Barrett, CNN Senior Congressional Producer
Senate's all-day budget debate dominated by politics
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell opened the debate by accusing
Democrats of being "irresponsible" for not passing a formal budget this
year. "If you're looking for a simple, three-word description of the Democrat
approach to the problems we face, it's this: duck and cover. They don't
have a budget of their own. They're going to vote against their own
president's budget later today and they're going to vote against every
budget Republicans put up."
"Republicans commandeered the floor by taking advantage of a
seldom-used Senate rule that allows any senator to offer a budget if the
Budget Committee has not passed a budget resolution by April 1.
In
this case, Republicans called up five budgets: one that closely
mirrored President Obama's budget proposal submitted earlier this year;
another, authored by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, which
the House approved; and three from very conservative senators aimed at
making drastic reductions to entitlements costs, government spending and
taxes.
Romney, GOP try to shift focus to deficit
Going into
the day, everyone knew none of the bills would get the 51 votes needed
to succeed.
And, as Republicans had calculated, the president's budget got zero yes
votes, providing Republicans with the political ammunition they sought
for the campaign trail this year.
The House Republican budget got 41 Republican votes and zero
Democratic votes. Five Republicans, including Sen. Scott Brown who is
facing a tough re-election fight in Massachusetts, voted against it.
A
proposal from Sen. Pat Toomey, R- Pennsylvania, that would balance the
budget in eight years got 42 Republican votes and no Democratic votes.
A
proposal from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, that would cut eliminate
several cabinet agencies -- including Commerce, Education, Housing and
Urban Developments and Energy -- only got 16 votes.
And a proposal
from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, which would institute a flat tax, raise the
eligibility age for Social Security, and repeal "Obamacare" only got 17
votes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By
Meredith Shiner Roll Call Staff May 22, 2012, 11:57 a.m.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-Nev.) indicated that he does not see a way to reach bipartisan
agreement on deficit reduction or taxes before the November elections.
Reid, in a terse letter, was responding to a letter signed by 41
Senate Republicans that demanded immediate action on extending Bush-era
tax cuts that expire at the end of this year.
In his letter, Reid suggested that the GOP Senators’ concerns were
not legitimate unless they agreed to compromise on a deficit reduction
package that includes tax increases on the wealthy and corporations.
“Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans’ blind adherence to Tea
Party extremism is making it impossible to reach this sort of balanced
agreement before the election,” Reid wrote
Harry Reid on the Bush Tax Cuts 07/18/2012
Please keep that fact in mind when you read about Harry Reid and the democrats gaming the budget systems to AVOID ANY ACCOUNTABILITY for the Economic Disaster caused by the DEMOCRATS.and the performance of the POTUS and his economic 'team'. The Election is now months away after years without a budget. 
