Congress passes budget deal, but cuts will sting for some

[mota bhai 2,675]

by Naureen Khan

December 18, 2013

WASHINGTON — A two-year spending bill passed through the Senate on Wednesday and was sent to the president’s desk shortly thereafter, ensuring at least a temporary reprieve from the recurring budget crises that have consumed Washington for the last three years.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairs of the Senate and House budget committees respectively, brokered the deal, which rolls back about $65 billion of the cuts imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 — known as the sequester — in 2014 and 2015. The compromise also includes $23 billion in additional deficit reduction over the next 10 years.

...

The savings don’t come for free: They are achieved by provisions such as requiring new federal workers to pay more into their pensions; cutting benefits for military retirees under the age of 62 through an altered cost-of-living calculation; higher security fees for travelers to help defray the costs of the Transportation Security Administration; and reduced government spending for oil and gas development research.

...

Although the legislation itself is relatively modest and neither party gets anything significant on its wish list, the hope is that the deal will clear the way for more substantial bipartisan victories.

Source: Al-Jazeera America

[Pooky 3,343]

It's just a drop in the ocean ... and it's a really big ocean.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Although the legislation itself is relatively modest and neither party gets anything significant on its wish list, the hope is that the deal will clear the way for more substantial bipartisan victories.

Source: Al-Jazeera America

Anyone really believe that? I sure don't.

Edited December 19, 2013 by Mr. Big Dog