Budget Deal in U.S. Would Reduce Automatic Spending Cuts Bloomberg News U.S. budget negotiators are nearing a deal to trim automatic spending cuts that might break a three-year cycle of failed fiscal talks in Washington. Reaching agreement is only the first step. Rounding up enough votes to pass in Congress will be the real challenge. The deal being crafted doesnt slow the growth of the national debt and doesnt rein in the corporate tax breaks Democrats targeted for elimination. The accord also wouldnt fully replace the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration. Aides to Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray, chief negotiators on a special panel, say they are optimistic for a compromise by a Dec. 13 deadline to help ease $100 billion to $200 billion in automatic cuts known as sequestration for a year or two. Negotiations are making progress, moving in the right direction, Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said on ABCs This Week yesterday. They havent closed a deal. They are really close to a deal, said Ed Lorenzen, a senior adviser to the Committee for a Responsible Budget, which advocates for fiscal responsibility. They are also really nervous about whether they have the votes to pass it. If an accord eludes Ryan and Murray, House Speaker John Boehner is poised to step in. Boehner and other Republicans dont want to risk another government shutdown, or get blamed for it, so hes prepared to go ahead this week with a stopgap spending plan that keeps funding at current levels -- Pentagon cuts and all. Complete Story: bloomberg/news/2013-12-09/modest-budget-accord-near-as-boehner-readies-stopgap-bill.html
Posted on: Mon, 09 Dec 2013 14:06:45 +0000