House defeats Simpson-Bowles amendment to GOP budget bill

The House on Wednesday morning soundly defeated a bipartisan amendment that would have encouraged President Obama to balance the budget using the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan as a guide.

Members rejected this proposal in a 75-348, dealing another blow to the plan that was developed by a commission that Obama convened on the deficit.

Last year, the House defeated a Simpson-Bowles-based budget resolution in a 38-382 vote. Republicans have argued that the Simpson-Bowles plan relied mostly on new tax increases to balance the budget, and dodged significant entitlement reform.

Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) offered the amendment to the Require a PLAN Act, which requires Obama to estimate when the federal budget will come into balance again. That bill, H.R. 444, was expected to be approved by the House within the hour.