For weeks, Congress has been re-tooling and re-tooling the extenders bill (HR 4213), looking for 60 votes to pass. Two things have held constant: lawmakers have been unwilling to enact the bills, and lawmakers have not offset the costs. Of course, the two are related. The newest Senate bill, released on Thursday, trims the gross cost and deficit impact to $103 billion and $27 billion, respectively, from $118 billion and $55 billion.

In remarks at the think tank Third Way, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer covered the bases in talking about our deficits and debt. Among the topics he covered were timing of deficit reduction, PAYGO, temporary policies, entitlements, defense, and the fiscal commission.

As our Budget Simulator grows in popularity, more and more people have taken the spending challenge to voice how they would like to see government spending cut. One popular suggestion has been that something be done regarding federal pay and benefits, which have fared relatively well in this economy while the private sector has felt the stronger sting of the recession.

Here are the highlights from this weekend’s editorials on fiscal and budget policy:

Summertime, but the Living Isn’t Easy in Congress – Today brings the first official day of summer, but Washington has already been experiencing searing days and the Capitol dome is about to blow off from the heat inside. The longest day of the year comes as lawmakers face a long road on appropriations and taxes, not to mention the never-ending “extenders” bill, which still has no end in sight.

Legislation to extend tax breaks that expired last year, as well as expanded social safety net provisions and relief for doctors from a steep cut in Medicare payments, continues to languish in the Senate as lawmakers cannot agree on paying for the costs of the bill.

The Senate released yet another version of the tax extenders and social safety net bill (The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 - H.R. 4213), decreasing the gross cost of the bill from $137 billion to $118 billion. CBO has yet to release an updated cost estimate of the bill, but press accounts report that the bill's overall deficit impact is likely between $50 and $60 billion.

The debate that won’t end drags on in the Senate as legislation to extend tax breaks, expanded unemployment insurance and the Medicare “doc fix” didn’t come close to getting 60 votes in a key procedural vote. The 45-52 vote failing to waive a budget point of order means the bill will undergo more changes to trim its cost.

The Senate will seek an end to the extended debate over tax extenders legislation tomorrow with a cloture vote on HR 4213 even though it is not clear that the bill has the 60 votes necessary to cut off debate and move to a vote on final passage. Concerns about the cost of the package, much of which is not paid for, is the main point of contention.

“Beautiful Game”and Not-So-Pretty Agenda – Add soccer to all the other distractions in Washington as lawmakers face a packed agenda. With the World Cup under way and workers gathered around monitors in offices across the globe (when they’re not at the local bar), legislators in DC face action on key bills that will affect the nation’s bottom line. Meanwhile, the growing chorus for fiscal responsibility and offsets to spending are becoming as loud and ubiquitous as the sound of the vuvuzela at matches.