Martin Sabo: “The motion to instruct does four very important things: It asks the House to agree to the Senate discretionary levels as…”

“The motion to instruct does four very important things: It asks the House to agree to the Senate discretionary levels as set by an amendment offered by Senator Domenici in the Senate and agreed to by a 3-to-1 vote in the Senate. This is to insure that we do not head to another Government shutdown in a long, dragged-out fight over appropriation bills. It is also about making sure that we adequately fund our programs for education, environmental and safety protection, research and development, and vital programs such as in agriculture. We also instruct the House to agree to three Senate sense of the Senate or sense of the Congress resolutions. Budget resolutions are about numbers, but it is ultimately also about policy. The Senate, through a sense of Congress, said that we should not be making changes in laws as they relate to spousal impoverishment and nursing home standards in Medicaid. I can think of no more fundamental policy that we should sustain in the Congress than those two basic priorities as we make modifications in Medicare, in Medicaid. And we also say, and accept, a resolution from the Senate saying, that when we deal with changes in Medicare, we should not change the protections for seniors as it relates to balanced billing.”