OVERNIGHT MONEY: Senate budget madness

FRIDAY'S BIG STORY: 

March budget madness: The House managed on Thursday to not only clear the six-month $984 billion continuing resolution, but also approve House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's budget blueprint — all before the real March Madness started at noon. 

Now, all eyes turn to the Senate — or to your hoops bracket, whichever is seeing more action. Either way there's bound to be some bracket- and budget-busting over the next couple of days. 

Good thing there are nearly three dozen games Thursday and Friday to fill in the time while the debate clock ticks down in the Senate. At the latest, the long-awaited vote-a-rama (c'mon you know you've missed it), will start off sometime Friday evening. 

If Democrats and Republicans can agree to reduce the 50 hours of debate time, voting on upward of 127 amendments could start earlier.

Still, that could push voting into Saturday. But, we'll see. 

Optimism was growing on Thursday night that voting could start before 7 p.m. on Friday. But Davidson looked like they were going to beat Marquette, too.

Democrats had offered 17 out of 127 amendments as of Thursday afternoon. Amendments to the budget only require 51 votes.

Voting continues until there is quiet on the Senate floor and lawmakers run out of amendments. 

Once the Senate wraps up work, the upper chamber can join the House on a two-week spring recess. It's spring somewhere. 

The Democratic budget, despite taking a pounding from Senate Republicans, will probably gain approval on a party-line vote sometime within the next few days. If approved, it would not only be the first budget to reach the Senate floor in four years but the first to get a nod. 

Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray’s (D-Wash.) budget has come under heavy fire from Republicans who say it overestimates deficit reduction while calling for nearly $1 trillion in new taxes.

Democrats say their budget cuts the deficit by $1.85 trillion over 10 years through an equal amount of spending cuts and new revenue, but the GOP has said that because the accounting assumes the sequester will not happen, the amount of deficit reduction is closer to $700 billion.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that the Democrats’ budget proposal would “pummel” the middle class.

“The budget we waited four years for is just a rehash of the extreme policies that continue to pummel the middle class,” he said. “It’s time to grow the economy, not the government."

From there, well, the budget's future is uncertain because the House and the Senate aren't expected to be able to reconcile their blueprints. 

Now, get back to those brackets, I mean budgets. 

Here are some other budget-related stories to check out: 

— Senate budget measure would forbid considering emissions from exports

— Rubio to offer amendment prohibiting middle class tax increases

— Senators clash over online sales tax proposal

— Sen. Boxer: Ryan’s budget ‘destroys’ Medicare

LOOSE CHANGE

Tastes great, economy boosting: A economic impact study released on Thursday shows that the beer industry — brewers, beer importers, beer distributors, brewer suppliers and retailers — inject $246.6 billion annually into the nation's economy.

The industry has 2,851 brewing establishments, 3,728 distributors and 576,353 retailers to help quench the thirst of beer lovers everywhere. 

The Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), which jointly commissioned the study, highlighted how the industry generates more than 2 million jobs, accounting for nearly $79 billion in wages and benefits, while contributing $49.1 billion dollars in business, personal and consumption taxes last year.

"Beer serves America at virtually every level of the economy, from the 2 million employees, to the small businesses in middle class communities and the important tax revenues at the local, state and national levels,” said Tom Long, CEO of MillerCoors and chairman of the Beer Institute. 

“From farmers to factory-workers, from brewery-hands to bartenders, beer puts Americans to work.”

The industry directly employs nearly 1.1 million people, paying nearly $31.8 billion in wages and benefits, among brewers, distributors and retailers, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, bars and stadiums, according to the study. 

"As independent businesses, America's licensed beer distributors are proud to provide more than 130,000 quality jobs with solid wages and great benefits to employees in every state and congressional district across the country," said Bob Archer, president of Blue Ridge Beverage Co. in Salem, Va., and chairman of NBWA.

Indirectly, the industry generates nearly $153.2 billion in economic activity in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transportation and other sectors.

"These numbers demonstrate that our industry continues to create quality jobs, build our economy and generate important domestic revenue in an economy that needs every job we can support," said Joe McClain, president of the Beer Institute. “For this reason, it is important that state and federal officials consider equitable tax policies and avoid harming an industry that is so effectively aiding economic growth.”

So, drink up. 

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Existing-home sales highest since 2009

— Labor market showing steady improvement

— GAO: Postal Service must deliver six days

— Consumer bureau shines light on discriminatory auto lending

— Norquist bracket picks winners based on marginal tax rates

— FDA: No ‘iPhone tax’ from health law

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