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Bipartisan budget agreement passes crucial test in US Senate Bipartisan budget agreement passes crucial test in US Senate
(about 4 hours later)
A crucial vote in the Senate on Tuesday all but guaranteed passage of a bipartisan budget deal, avoiding a repeat of the recent government shutdown and bucking the trend of fiscal paralysis that has become a signature of Washington politics.A crucial vote in the Senate on Tuesday all but guaranteed passage of a bipartisan budget deal, avoiding a repeat of the recent government shutdown and bucking the trend of fiscal paralysis that has become a signature of Washington politics.
The compromise bill, forged by Republican representative Paul Ryan and Democratic senator Patty Murray, had already been endorsed by the House of Representatives in an overwhelming vote last week.The compromise bill, forged by Republican representative Paul Ryan and Democratic senator Patty Murray, had already been endorsed by the House of Representatives in an overwhelming vote last week.
The Senate voted 67-33 in a procedural motion to move the bill forward to a final vote which will require the backing of only a simple majority of senators, meaning it will almost certainly pass when it is put to a final test on Wednesday. The White House has already signalled that President Obama will sign the bill into law.The Senate voted 67-33 in a procedural motion to move the bill forward to a final vote which will require the backing of only a simple majority of senators, meaning it will almost certainly pass when it is put to a final test on Wednesday. The White House has already signalled that President Obama will sign the bill into law.
The bill will alleviate around half of the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester, the next round of which was set to take effect in January. However, it does not extend the emergency unemployment benefits that will expire for around a million Americans at the end of the month.The bill will alleviate around half of the automatic spending cuts known as the sequester, the next round of which was set to take effect in January. However, it does not extend the emergency unemployment benefits that will expire for around a million Americans at the end of the month.
That caps a painful year for the poorest Americans, who have also seen the biggest cuts to the food stamp program – an entitlement for the very neediest people that Republicans want to reduce further – in half a century.That caps a painful year for the poorest Americans, who have also seen the biggest cuts to the food stamp program – an entitlement for the very neediest people that Republicans want to reduce further – in half a century.
Although most Senate Republicans voted against the bill on Tuesday, passage of the Ryan-Murray agreement will be seen as a victory for moderates in the party.Although most Senate Republicans voted against the bill on Tuesday, passage of the Ryan-Murray agreement will be seen as a victory for moderates in the party.
Powerful conservative groups such as Club For Growth and Heritage Action, which pushed for October's government shutdown, had been urging lawmakers to reject the bill, in part because it increases government spending.Powerful conservative groups such as Club For Growth and Heritage Action, which pushed for October's government shutdown, had been urging lawmakers to reject the bill, in part because it increases government spending.
Senators on both sides feared that the threat posed by such organizations, which have the financial and political clout to help spur primary challenges to Republican legislators unpopular with the right, could prevent the bill from achieving the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote.Senators on both sides feared that the threat posed by such organizations, which have the financial and political clout to help spur primary challenges to Republican legislators unpopular with the right, could prevent the bill from achieving the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote.
Ryan and the Republican speaker of the House, John Boehner, had been frantically lobbying their counterparts in the Senate to support the agreement, amid fears that Democrats might also reject the bill over its failure to maintain support for the long-term unemployed.Ryan and the Republican speaker of the House, John Boehner, had been frantically lobbying their counterparts in the Senate to support the agreement, amid fears that Democrats might also reject the bill over its failure to maintain support for the long-term unemployed.
In the end, the procedural motion, known as cloture, passed with the support of all 55 members of the Senate's Democratic caucus, who were joined by 12 of their Republican colleagues.In the end, the procedural motion, known as cloture, passed with the support of all 55 members of the Senate's Democratic caucus, who were joined by 12 of their Republican colleagues.
The success of the bill will also likely be a boost for the political fortunes of both Ryan and Murray, who chair the budget committees in the House and Senate, respectively.The success of the bill will also likely be a boost for the political fortunes of both Ryan and Murray, who chair the budget committees in the House and Senate, respectively.
Although the agreement is a limited one that is a long way from the all-encompassing grand bargain deal the most optimistic lawmakers hoped might be possible, it does end almost three years of bitter, unresolved disputes over the budget.Although the agreement is a limited one that is a long way from the all-encompassing grand bargain deal the most optimistic lawmakers hoped might be possible, it does end almost three years of bitter, unresolved disputes over the budget.
Ryan, who is often touted as a possible candidate in the 2016 presidential election, did risk the wrath of the right-wing of his party by striking and full-heartedly endorsing the new deal. But he can now claim a fortified reputation as a bipartisan figure who can cross the aisle to make deals – a credential that has high currency in American politics – while also carrying the support of elected Republicans from all parts of the spectrum of the party.Ryan, who is often touted as a possible candidate in the 2016 presidential election, did risk the wrath of the right-wing of his party by striking and full-heartedly endorsing the new deal. But he can now claim a fortified reputation as a bipartisan figure who can cross the aisle to make deals – a credential that has high currency in American politics – while also carrying the support of elected Republicans from all parts of the spectrum of the party.
However, while a government shutdown is off the table, the spectrum of the kind of political brinkmanship that took the US to the precipice of an economic crisis in October has not been entirely averted. The deal that put an end to the shutdown, and set up the Ryan-Murray talks, also extended a separate debate over the US Treasury's borrowing capacity, but only until the middle of February. However, while a government shutdown is off the table, the spectre of the kind of political brinkmanship that took the US to the precipice of an economic crisis in October has not been entirely averted. The deal that put an end to the shutdown, and set up the Ryan-Murray talks, also extended a separate debate over the US Treasury's borrowing capacity, but only for a few months.
Just hours after the budget vote, the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, raised the possibility of a repeat showdown over the debt limit.
"I doubt if the House, or, for that matter, the Senate, is willing to give the president a clean debt ceiling increase," he said, adding that the lower chamber might still choose to add "a condition" in return for extending the Treasury's borrowing authority.
Appearing on the rightwing Hugh Hewitt radio show, Ryan made a similar assertion. "We've never just done nothing," he said in relation to the debt limit, suggesting that it might be used as leverage to push through the controversial Keystone pipeline.
The White House has said the current debt ceiling will need to be renewed in March and, on Monday, repeated its insistence that it will not negotiate over the debt ceiling. "We do not expect Republicans to walk that path again, precisely because it proved so disastrous," spokesman Jay Carney said.
Most economists agree that a failure to extend the debt ceiling, which would mean the US defaulting on some payments to its creditors, could have disastrous effects for the global economy.Most economists agree that a failure to extend the debt ceiling, which would mean the US defaulting on some payments to its creditors, could have disastrous effects for the global economy.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday this past weekend, Ryan hinted at another confrontation, saying Republicans are still deciding what they "can accomplish out of this debt-limit fight". The White House quickly repeated its insistence that it will not negotiate over the debt ceiling. "We do not expect Republicans to walk that path again, precisely because it proved so disastrous," spokesman Jay Carney said.
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