The two lead budget negotiators in Congress have announced a comprehensive budget deal to keep the government funded for the next two years.
The deal, announced Tuesday evening by Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) during a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., represented a rare case of bipartisanship in this divided political era, and it provides a framework for the nation’s priorities and commitments.
The budget plan, announced just before the Dec. 13 deadline, would reduce the federal deficit by between $20 and $23 billion, and would set this fiscal year’s overall discretionary spending at $1.012 trillion, a compromise between the Senate budget proposal’s $1.058 trillion mark and the House budget’s $967 billion level.
“I’m proud of this agreement,” Ryan said. “It reduces the deficit—without raising taxes. And it cuts spending in a smarter way. It’s a firm step in the right direction, and I ask all my colleagues in the House to support it.”
Both lawmakers spoke about the conciliatory effect that coming to an agreement on the budget deal could have in the Congress, where persistent stalemate and obstructionism have left lawmakers unable to address many crucial issues facing the United States.
“This agreement breaks through the recent dysfunction to prevent another government shutdown and roll back sequestration’s cuts to defense and domestic investments in a balanced way,” Murray said. “It’s a good step in the right direction that can hopefully rebuild some trust and serve as a foundation for continued bipartisan work.”
Conservative groups had pressed for the deal to be nixed in recent days, complaining about potential capitulation to Democrats and the potential for tax raises. They also said the budget should not undo any of the so-called “sequester” cuts.
Even some members of Ryan’s own party criticized the deal, as Time reported earlier on Tuesday, though both Ryan and Murray expressed optimism that it would be able to be passed out of Congress.
“The deal is not going to be what mainstream Republicans hoped for,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the Senate Budget Committee’s ranking Republican, told the magazine. “It’ll probably turn out to be a very tough call for a lot of people who want to have an agreement but also want to see progress made in certain areas.”
Ryan said that he supports the budget deal, dubbed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, and that conservatives should understand why he agreed to it despite the pleas from many of his right-wing colleagues and the fact that it provides $63 billion in so-called sequester relief, which, he noted, are fully offset by other savings in the budget plan.
“As a conservative I deal with the situation as it exists. I deal with the way things are, not necessarily the way I want them to be,” Ryan said. “This agreement takes us in the right direction from my perspective … Net deficit reduction without raising taxes. That’s fiscal conservatism.”
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) backed Ryan in a statement released shortly after the agreement was announced.
“While modest in scale, this agreement represents a positive step forward by replacing one-time spending cuts with permanent reforms to mandatory spending programs that will produce real, lasting savings,” Boehner said.
President Barack Obama also expressed support for the deal shortly after it was announced.
“Today’s bipartisan budget agreement is a good first step,” he said in a statement. “This agreement replaces a portion of the across-the-board spending cuts known as "the sequester” that have harmed students, seniors, and middle-class families and served as a mindless drag on our economy over the last year.”
The House is expected to take up the budget first, followed by the Senate.
Congressional Negotiators Announce Bipartisan Budget Deal
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