An interesting discussion is taking shape on National Review’s the Corner concerning the propriety of the U.S. Senate’s amending a budget bill.  Mark Steyn offers the latest word:

… had the British or Canadian House of Commons, the Australian or Fijian House of Representatives, the Indian Lok Sabha, the Dáil Éireann, the Bahamian or Bermudan House of Assembly, etc, etc, etc, voted as the U.S. House of Representatives did, that would indeed be the end of the matter. The blurring of responsibilities between the Upper and Lower Houses is a not insignificant reason for the fiscal debauchery in Washington.

In a big-picture way, I’m inclined to agree.  As a practical matter, however, I’d suggest that Steyn’s argument pretty much became moot after the ratification of the 17th Amendment, which Rhode Island made the inconsequential mistake of affirming earlier this year. (See the fourth section, here, for some argument on that).