Perhaps it is fitting that the House Administration Committee would wait until the day last week when White House Budget Director Mitch Daniels resigned to release its new spending plan. Daniels is an impassioned believer in fiscal discipline, and was known around policy circles as “The Blade” for his knife-edged approach to fat budgets and Congressional negotiators. The big spenders in Congress disliked Daniels and his tough approach, his departure is another sign that spending restraint has collapsed in Washington.

The battle over Pennsylvania’s budget continues this week as Governor Rendell and state legislators have yet to come to an agreement. Pennsylvania lawmakers rightly rejected the governor’s initial budget, part of his “Plan for a New Pennsylvania” in March and so far the state is without a real budget.

Medical dictionaries define a fracture as "…an injury, a break in a bone that develops because of repeated or prolonged forces against the bone." Fractures can occur in politics, too. In Washington, the steady injurious force is the Senate's desire to spend ever more money, and the result is a new break between House and Senate Republicans. When GOP leaders return to Washington they may face a difficult time repairing damaged relationships resulting from Senate Republicans' new budget deal.

With two days left until Congress adjourns for the Easter recess, a budget conference report and the supplemental appropriations bill have not been completed. Conferees on the budget have yet to agree on a tax cut figure, but it does seem like the members concur on a discretionary spending total of $784 billion, which is nearly the amount the president outlined.

President Bush’s tax cut took a short detour on Tuesday, when an amendment offered by Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) to cut the tax cut to $350 billion was approved by a 51-48 vote. Three Republican Senators, Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), George Voinovich (R-Ohio), and Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) all voted with the majority to reduce the size of the tax cut. Democratic Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) missed the vote. Though it seems the president’s tax cut number is in jeopardy, there are more steps in the budget process that may provide an opportunity to gain back the lost dollars.

The Economic Growth and Jobs Creation Plan Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee conducted the first of four hearings on President Bush’s economic growth plan. Treasury Secretary Snow, the first Administration representative called before the committee, deflected Democratic opposition and hammered on the package’s pro-growth and jobs creation features.

Miguel Estrada The new news on this story is that Bill Nelson, the junior Democratic senator from Florida, will break from his party and vote to end debate and to confirm Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit if and when a vote is scheduled. Essentially, the debate is stuck in a parliamentary quagmire. The Senate is technically debating the nomination; in actuality, the Democrats are filibustering.