Conrad budget markup delayed

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad will not be conducting a markup of a Senate budget resolution on Monday and no date has been set for one to occur.

"While Chairman Conrad was hoping a mark up could take place as early as the beginning of next week, his discussions with colleagues are continuing," committee spokesman Stu Nagurka said Friday.

He said that the Congressional Budget Office has shared new estimates with the commitee that "need to be examined before the committee moves forward."

Committee ranking member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said this week that Conrad had said the markup could come as early as Monday. Committee Republicans have been demanding to see the resolution three days before the markup but Conrad has been mum on when exactly text would be made available. Republicans say that last year, a mark was only handed out once the meeting began.

Conrad said this week that his draft acheives $4 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years through a combination of spending cuts and tax revenue increases. 

The House passed a budget resolution on April 15, but Democrats say that it is dead on arrival in the Senate. The GOP has been pressuring the Senate to come up with an alternative.

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