On June 5, the House narrowly passed the 2009 congressional budget conference report (S. Con. Res. 70) which aims to balance the budget in 2012 but does not attempt to address entitlement reform or extend all of President George W. Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.

The budget resolution acts as a fiscal blueprint for Congress to follow, with projected spending, revenue and deficit targets from 2009 to 2013. This year, the measure passed 214-210, with 14 Democrats joining Republicans in opposition. The House’s action followed a similarly narrow vote on June 4 in the Senate, which adopted the resolution 48-45.

The approved budget resolution includes a long-overdue funding increase for the Small Business Administration (SBA). The budget blueprint adds $101 million to the president's request for the SBA budget for 2009. It provides increased funding for Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, microloans, contracting assistance, veterans outreach programs, technical assistance programs, and increases loan oversight while reducing oversight fees paid by lenders.

On the tax front, the plan very closely resembles the fiscal 2008 budget resolution. While it does not extend all of the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, it does include room extending the current child tax credit, the ten percent tax bracket, marriage penalty tax relief, and a reformed estate tax.

Additionally, the measure also included a provision that could potentially allow for more money to be appropriated to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to strengthen enforcement efforts. Essentially, the resolution allows for the 2009 cap on discretionary spending to be adjusted by up to $490 million in order to boost IRS tax collection efforts. Fortunately, cap adjustments are included as incentives for lawmakers to provide money to specified priorities, but the appropriators are not bound to them.

S. Con. Res. 70 calls for reaching a balanced budget in 2012 with a $21.9 billion surplus and a $10.1 billion surplus in 2013. However, many experts are doubtful those surpluses will materialize because they do no included expected costs for the Iraq war after 2009 or the costs of keeping the Alternative Minimum Tax from affecting more taxpayers over the budget window.

Democrats have touted the passage of the budget as a victory because it is the first time since 2000 that a fiscal plan has been approved in an election year. Meanwhile, Republicans have criticized the plan as laying the groundwork for major tax increases by not allowing for the extension of all the temporary tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003.