It seems the fiscally conservative House Blue Dog coalition is putting some pressure on the House and Senate Budget committees to resist patching the alternative minimum tax unless it is paid for with tax increases or spending cuts.

The Hill’s Mike Soraghan has the scoop on TheHill.com.

He shares with us this letter from Blue Dogs to the budget committees' chairmen and ranking members:

As you examine the policy options contained in both the House and Senate budget resolutions for the fiscal year 2009, we would like to reinforce our commitment to ensuring a conference report is truly fiscally responsible. We believe achieving that goal requires a conference report to include deficit-neutral AMT relief through reconciliation language and any stimulus package to be fully offset.

Once again we find ourselves staring down a non-inflation-adjusted AMT for the 2008 tax year. A proactive solution that adheres to the pay-as-you-go principle is the best way to provide AMT relief without adversely impacting our nation's already-dismal fiscal standing. The ten-year cost of patching the AMT for the 2008 tax year could top $100 billion, if deficit-financed. With this year's and next year's budget deficits slated to approach $400 billion, we simply cannot afford to continue digging ourselves into a deeper and deeper fiscal hole. The reconciliation process is the surest way to get fiscally responsible AMT relief to the President's desk.

The Senate budget resolution calls for a second stimulus package, without offsets. While we agree that certain actions taken by the federal government can positively impact an ailing economy, most economists believe a significant contributor to today's economic insecurity is excessive debt. Whether it's the banker on Wall Street, the federal government, or many homeowners across the nation, we're witnessing the risks of over-leveraging, and the threat of recession looming ever larger. The last thing we should do is fuel the fire by further reducing the already negative national savings rate, a large component of which is the federal government's fiscal position.

We are all sent to Washington to put aside political expediency and make tough decisions on the issues facing our country. This is one of those times our leadership is needed. An FY09 Budget Conference Report that does not include deficit-neutral AMT relief through reconciliation, and that does not require any second stimulus package to be fully offset, will meet our firm opposition on the House Floor.