House Passes Budget Bill

The House passed the bill brokered by Senator Patty Murray of Washington and Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

In a blowout, the House voted in favor of the legislation by a 332-94 margin. The bill now moves to the Senate, which is expected to vote on it next week.

The deal has been hailed by bipartisan members of Congress and by President Barack Obama as a step toward ending the brutal fiscal fights that have become the norm in Washington over the past two years.

The mini-bargain — the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013” — sets discretionary spending levels a little above $1 trillion for the next two years, while repealing and replacing some cuts of sequestration. In fiscal year 2014, spending is set at $1.012 trillion, which sits about halfway between the proposed levels of the House and Senate budgets. Current law under sequestration calls for caps of $967 billion.

The legislation provides $63 billion in sequester relief over two years, which is split evenly between defense and non-defense programs. This is offset by targeted spending cuts and non-tax revenues that total $85 billion. Ryan and Murray said that the deal will reduce the deficit between $20 and $23 billion over a 10-year period.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.