NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – Well, that was close.
Halfway through the fiscal year, and countless partisan power plays later, Congress finally managed to reach a deal on the 2011 budget. Its signature feature: $38.5 billion in spending cuts or, as it's referred to by the key players, "the largest spending cut in American history."
FULL STORY
Washington (CNN) - Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer revealed Sunday that about half the $38.5 billion in cuts agreed upon in last week’s budget negotiations came from mandatory spending areas like agriculture and highway funding.
The senior New York senator said reductions in the spending programs, known in appropriations parlance as "changes in mandatory spending" or CHIMPS, brought down spending while allowing other programs like Head Start to continue.
FULL POST
Washington (CNN) - Fresh off last-minute budget negotiations that averted a partial government shutdown, President Barack Obama this week will lay out his plan for long-term deficit reduction demanded by conservatives.
White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe appeared on four Sunday talk shows to announce Obama's intentions and deliver the administration message that further deals like the one reached last Friday night with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, will be necessary as Congress and the administration face more major budget decisions in coming months.
FULL STORY
Washington (CNN) - Fresh off the debate to avoid a government shutdown, Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin expressed cautious optimism following the resolution, while gearing up politically for the debt ceiling drama.
Hensarling, the chairman of the House Republican Conference, explained two ways to view the budget negotiations.
FULL POST
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - Lawmakers pushed through a last-minute spending bill Friday night to avert a shutdown and keep the federal government open for business.
The short-term spending measure - the seventh in the past six months - cut $2 billion and allows agencies to spend money through next Friday. A senior White House official told CNN that President Barack Obama will sign the short- term measure into law later Saturday.
FULL STORY
WASHINGTON (CNN) – In a town where politicians like to keep score the White House isn’t boasting about the victory. “ The American people won,” a top Obama adviser told reporters at a background briefing after the deal was reached. This is a "very good night for the country."
The White House was feeling optimistic that it was on the verge of a deal Thursday night. When Speaker Boehner left the Oval Office meeting, “there was an agreement on range and composition,” said another official.
FULL STORY
Check back here often for all the latest developments in Washington as the deadline looms for a government shutdown. Read a full story here. Click here to find out what will be open/what will be closed in the event of a government shutdown.
2:00 p.m. ET - According to the White House, President Obama has signed the short-term measure to keep the government running through the week. The measure, known as a continuing resolution, gives Congress time to pass a long-term budget deal that will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year.
12:37 a.m. ET - The House approved a short-funding extension 348-70. The bill funds the government until the end of the day Friday, April 15th.
12:28 a.m. ET - A senior White House official told CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian that President Obama is expected to sign the short term continuing resolution into law sometime Saturday.
12:23 a.m. ET - Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew in a memo told federal agencies to "continue their normal operations."
"While the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires at midnight tonight, Congress has indicated that it has reached agreement on a funding bill for the rest of the fiscal year. Earlier this evening, the Senate passed a short term CR that will extend current funding levels until the full-year bill can be passed and enacted next week. We expect the House to take up the CR shortly and for the President to sign this CR no later than tomorrow. As a result, at this time agencies are instructed to continue their normal operations," Lew wrote.
12:14 a.m. ET – @deirdrewalshcnn: House voting now on stopgap bill funding government until Friday 4/15 – #shutdown averted
12:03 a.m. ET - @LisaDCNN: Technically, WE ARE IN #SHUTDOWN: for just a few minutes. Until House vote magically erases it.
FULL POST
Washington (CNN) – Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee advised Republicans in Congress to strike a budget deal, warning a government shutdown will hurt the GOP politically.
"Don't let the government shutdown because the consequences of that are going to hurt the Republicans, not the Democrats and the Republicans can't win this battle when it gets down to it," Huckabee said Friday on the Fox Business Network. "I think it's important that the Republicans don't jeopardize all of their chances for both the White House, Senate and the House elections in 2012 by arguing over what amounts to less than a penny."
FULL POST
Washington (CNN) - Nine female Senate Democrats stood grimly together Friday afternoon in a move to ramp up pressure on House Republicans and force a compromise on the budget.
"We are heading to a shutdown not because of a debate over money, not because of a debate over cuts but because Republicans continue to push a radical agenda against women," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland.
FULL POST
Lynchburg, Virginia (CNN) – The last Republican House speaker to battle a Democratic president as the government neared a shutdown described Friday what the behind-the scenes situation probably looks like, now, just hours before government operations could go dark.
"I think there are a lot of people who are tired, and really focused on trying to figure if they can avoid having a shut down," Newt Gingrich said on Friday to reporters regarding round-the-clock negotiations. His comments came after he delivered a speech at The Awakening conference at Liberty University.
FULL POST
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Recent Comments