Senate approves 2-year budget and debt-ceiling agreement, syncs up with the House
WASHINGTON – The Senate Thursday afternoon approved a $1.37 trillion budget deal brokered between congressional leaders and the Trump administration that raises spending by $324 billion over the next two years and suspends the debt ceiling for the same duration.
The measure passed 67-28.
Twenty-three Republicans voted no, as did five Democrats.
The House of Representatives approved the measure last week.
It now heads to the White House, where President Donald Trump is expected to sign it.
The legislation eliminates billions of dollars in automatic spending cuts that were set to take place in January 2020. It provides near parity between defense and domestic spending, and provides a framework for funding the government when current appropriations expire on Oct. 1.
The agreement is the product of months of negotiations.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took the lead in hammering out the final details.
Had both chambers not voted to suspend the debt-ceiling prior to the five-week August recess, which begins today, lawmakers would have had only a matter of days upon return to prevent the government from defaulting on its obligations.
This article is republished with permission from TMN
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