U.S. Budget Agreement Eases Spending Cuts Over Two Year

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U.S. budget negotiators unveiled an agreement to ease automatic spending cuts by about $60 billion over two years and reduce the deficit by $23 billion, breaking a three-year cycle of fiscal standoffs.

Chief architects Senator Patty Murray and Representative Paul Ryan said the compromise avoids a government shutdown when funding authority expires Jan. 15 and helps the U.S. economy, which they said had been damaged by a series of feuds.

“It is an important step in helping heal some of the wounds here in Congress,” Murray, a Washington state Democrat, said today at a Capitol Hill news conference.

Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said he sees the deal as “a step in the right direction.” He said: “In divided government, you don’t always get what you want.”

The budget proposal, which will be considered by the House later this week, would set U.S. spending at about $1.01 trillion for this year, higher than the $967 billion required in a 2011 budget accord. Spending for defense is $520.5 billion and for non-defense $491.8 billion.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-10/bipartisan-u-s-budget-draws-lawmaker-ire-before-deal-is.html

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1. Both Obama And Boehner Immediately Released Statements Hailing The Budget Deal

Here's something you don't see every day on budget matters. About 20 minutes apart Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) both released statements hailing the budget deal reached Tuesday as a positive first step toward avoiding governing by crisis.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/budget-deal-reached-obama-boehner-paul-ryan-patty-murray-shutdown-2013-12