Senate Budget Mark Up Likely Next Week

WASHINGTON — Senate Budget Committee leaders hope to take up their much-anticipated 2016 federal spending resolution next week, and have it on the floor later this month.

A Republican committee aide says Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Ranking Member Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., want to mark up their budget measure next Wednesday and Thursday.

The panel's Republican majority has yet to officially announce the mark up sessions, but the GOP aide said Enzi has publicly mentioned this timeline.

The hope is for the resolution to hit the Senate floor the following week, just days before the chamber is scheduled to adjourn for its annual two-week Easter recess.

"The plan is to mark up the Senate budget resolution next week on Wed., March 18 and Thursday, March 19 with debate by the full Senate the following week," the GOP aide said in an email.

Congressional Quarterly reported the dates in its "Morning Briefing" e-newsletter early Thursday morning.

The Pentagon and US defense sector are closely watching the House and Senate budget resolutions, eager for one or both to propose a way to increase 2016 military spending.

For the latest national security news from Capitol Hill, stick with CongressWatch

Defense and domestic spending caps, as well as the sequestration cuts, remain the law of the land through 2021.

The leadership of the House and Senate Budget committees have not mentioned increasing defense spending as a major priority, though the lower chamber's budget point man, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., has talked about decoupling the defense and domestic cuts.

And House and Senate leaders also have been mum about addressing sequestration during this congressional session. The lone vocal proponents of doing so are members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees.

email: jbennett@defensenews.com

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