The chance that the majority Democrats will pass a budget this year is "fading," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said Tuesday.He is pessimistic because House Democrats don't know whether they want to pass a resolution that would officially acknowledge the certainty of big deficits. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and other Democrats have indicated that would be a tough vote in an election year.
Conrad said the Senate was getting "mixed signals" from the House and time is running out, not least because the Senate has a packed legislative agenda.