A bipartisan budget deal has been agreed upon and approved. This will set spending levels for the federal government for two years and partially replace unpopular spending cuts with other savings. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., led the negotiations just before the Dec. 13 deadline.
Ryan and Murray said the agreement would stop the government “lurching from crisis to crisis” and eliminate the threat of another government shutdown. A stopgap funding funding is scheduled to run out again Jan. 15th.
So what does this all mean? If this is approved, the congressional budget process could get back on track; allowing for passage of the 12 annual spending bills that cover federal spending other than mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare.
President Obama praised the deal as “a good first step” and said he would sign it if it reaches his desk.
For fiscal year 2014, the top-line spending will be $1.012 trillion and $1.014 trillion for fiscal year 2015. The agreement replaces $63 billion in sequester cuts with a combination of other savings, and includes an additional $22.5 billion in deficit reduction.
