Federal budget deal struck in Senate

WASHINGTON — The Senate, working late into the night, approved a two-year budget deal early Friday morning that will avoid a government default on its debts and remove caps on discretionary spending that most lawmakers found too onerous.

The deal, which was negotiated by the White House and congressional leaders of both parties, would allow about $80 billion in new defense and domestic spending in 2016 and 2017.

"This agreement is not perfect, no legislation is, but it accomplishes two major priorities that Democrats have supported from the very beginning," said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. "The budget agreement promotes economic growth and job creation over the next two years by providing relief from the devastating sequester cuts. It also invests equally in both the middle class and the Pentagon."

Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada was one of 35 Republicans to vote against the bill, which passed 64-35 nearly three hours after midnight.

"It's business as usual here in Washington," Heller said. "This latest budget agreement is not a long-term plan or solution the American people deserve. This plan will force Congress to revisit this same exact issue in a short amount of time. That's why I don't support it."

Without action by Congress, the Treasury Department would have exhausted the last of its borrowing capacity on Tuesday. The bill allows the government to borrow beyond the debt ceiling for two years.

Heller and other conservatives said this simply moves the deadline down the road without addressing the nation's $18 trillion debt.

As a way to force Congress to act, Heller has proposed a No Budget, No Pay Act that would block pay to lawmakers if they fail to pass a budget and appropriations bills by the start of each fiscal year.

"It's past time Washington addresses the needs of the people of this nation instead of continuing to punt to the next big deadline," he said.

The House voted earlier in the week, 266-167, in favor of the bill with Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., voting yes. Opposing the bill were Nevada Republican Reps. Mark Amodei, Cresent Hardy and Joe Heck.

President Barack Obama has said he will sign the bill into law when it reaches his desk.

Contact Peter Urban at purban@reviewjournal.com or at 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @PUrbanDC