A partisan fight over the House GOP-written fiscal 2013 budget has escalated as Election Day nears. President Obama attacked the bill as "so far to the right it makes the Contract With America look like the New Deal." House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the bill's architect, fired back, saying Obama's budget plans were "reckless" and that the president "chose to duck and run" on the economy.
The budget resolution, passed by the House on March 29 by a 228-191 vote, is non-binding and seen as having no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But the budget will affect key House construction bills. Brian Deery, head of the Associated General Contractors highway and transportation division, says, "From the House leadership's point of view, this is their blue-print for spending. … Legislation that goes through the House will be judged by what's contained in that budget resolution."