There's a lot to be proud of in what the House of Representatives did today. The Democratic leadership and their supporters deserve a big round of applause, as do all those who voted for them, and all those who argued that they would be more responsible fiscal stewards than the Republican clown show has been:
SEC. 405. PAYASYOUGO POINT OF ORDER.... It shall not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report if the provisions of such measure affecting direct spending and revenues have the net effect of increasing the deficit or reducing the surplus for either the period comprising the current fiscal year and the five fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year that ends in the following calendar year or the period comprising the current fiscal year and the ten fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year that ends in the following calendar year... relative to... the most recent baseline estimates supplied by the Congressional Budget Office...
SEC. 402. RECONCILIATION.... It shall not be in order to consider a concurrent resolution on the budget, or an amendment thereto, or a conference report thereon that contains reconciliation directives under section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 that specify changes in law reducing the surplus or increasing the deficit for either the period comprising the current fiscal year and the [next] five fiscal years... or the period comprising the current fiscal year and the [next] ten fiscal years...
SEC. 403. APPLYING POINTS OF ORDER UNDER BUDGET ACT TO BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS CONSIDERED UNDER SPECIAL RULES.... With respect to measures considered pursuant to a special order of business, points of order under title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 shall operate without regard to whether the measure concerned has been reported from committee...
SEC. 404. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARK REFORM...) It shall not be in order to consider a bill or joint resolution... unless the report includes a list of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits in the bill or in the report (and the name of any Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who submitted a request... for each respective item included in such list)...
