President’s budget will be delayed

The official said that instead of releasing the budget proposal as planned on Feb. 7, the administration will publish it the week of Feb. 14

The delay is due in part to a backlog caused by a six-week hold placed on the confirmation of Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). Lew was confirmed by the Senate on Nov. 18, after the administraion assured Landrieu it would speed approval of oil and gas drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico.

The delay is also due to the fact that 2011 funding decisions were not nailed down until just before Congress adjourned. A continuing resolution funding the government through March 4 was signed into law on Dec. 22.

The White House had backed the passage of a full-year omnibus spending bill, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was forced to abandon the omnibus after up to nine Republicans who had backed the measure withdrew their support. 

The president’s budget request is the first step in the annual budget and appropriations process. By law, Congress must approve a budget resolution by April 15 that sets ceilings on appropriations bills that should be signed into law by the time the fiscal year ends, Sept. 30. Last year, for the first time since the 1970s, Congress failed to adopt a budget resolution or any of the 12 appropriations bills.

After Obama releases his budget request, incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will release the GOP’s austere counterproposal, setting off months of negotiations with the Demorcratic Senate.