Budget before Senate after House approves bipartisan compromise
Print Edition
The Democrat-controlled Senate was expected to approve a bipartisan budget agreement next week, sealing a spending deal that would prevent a repeat of last month’s damaging government shutdown and restore money for the US military and domestic agencies that had been slashed in automatic cuts.
The House of Representatives voted to pass the budget on Thursday — by a lopsided 332-94 margin — after a surprising about-face by Speaker John Boehner. The leader blasted the tea party wing of his Republican caucus and outside conservative groups for leading members astray and hurting the party by having forced the government shutdown two months ago. Until he came out in support of the new deal, Boehner had largely bowed to pressure from the hard right.
When signed into law by President Barack Obama, as expected, the spending plan eases a brutal philosophical fight over government funding that has gripped the United States since Republicans retook control of the House in 2010, giving them sufficient power to bring the legislative process to a halt.
While House Democrats were upset the budget did not include an extension of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, they voted overwhelming for the plan after Senate Democrats promised to force a vote on extending unemployment benefits when the chamber reconvenes next year. They hope that political pressure after 1.3 million people lose their benefits on December 28 will force Republican leaders to extend aid averaging less than US$300 a week to people who have been out of work longer than six months.
The vote in the House was a big win for Boehner, who earlier in the day criticized conservative interest groups that routinely attack Republicans for supporting legislation they deem not conservative enough.
The measure would bring a temporary cease-fire to the budget wars that have gridlocked Washington for much of the three years since Republicans reclaimed control of the House. It leaves in place the bulk of US$1 trillion or so in automatic cuts slamming the Pentagon, domestic agencies and Medicare providers through 2021 but eases an especially harsh set of cuts for 2014 and 2015.
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