Bill to avert government shutdown inches to Senate passage

[ProSense]

Bill to avert government shutdown inches to Senate passage

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Monday inched closer to passage of a bill to fund federal agencies through September 30 and avoid a government shutdown at the end of this month when existing money runs out.

Racing against a March 27 deadline, senators voted 63-35 to limit debate on the legislation so that it can be approved and sent to the House of Representatives for final approval this week.

A Senate vote on passage could come as early as Tuesday.

Just before the procedural vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, frustrated by the slow pace, urged his colleagues to let the legislation move ahead.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE92B0ZE20130318

Senate Proposal Would Spare Vital Programs From Cuts

By JONATHAN WEISMAN and ANNIE LOWREY

WASHINGTON — The worst of the cuts in federal spending to a major infant nutrition program would be reversed. Embassy security and construction could be spared in the wake of the consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya. And child care subsidies, once seen as critical to the success of welfare reform, would take a haircut, not the hammer blow that President Obama once loudly warned was coming.

With the expected Senate passage as early as Tuesday of broad legislation to finance the federal government through Sept. 30, a lucky few programs will be spared the brunt of the automatic spending cuts — known as sequestration — now coursing through the federal government. Managers, especially in the Defense Department, will be given more flexibility to implement $85 billion in cuts.

But the Democratic and Republican authors of the bill — which cleared its biggest procedural hurdle Monday night with a 63-35 vote to cut off debate — cautioned that no matter how furiously they shuffle money around, the next six months will remain difficult for large swaths of the government struggling to implement cuts as deep as 13 percent. One program’s gain in the spending bill will mean another’s loss, because total spending must remain beneath a hard cap of $984 billion.

And even with the new legislation passed, the next round of cuts — an additional $100 billion a year – still looms beyond September.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/us/politics/senators-plan-would-spare-vital-programs-from-federal-cuts.html

Roll call: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00038

Note, this is not the Democratic budget, which also replaces sequestration.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022522913

[northoftheborder]

1. As far as I know, from reading the latest from gov. agency letters to those affected....

....even military hospitals with civilian workers will be furloughed one day a week, 20% docked from pay, and they have to still pay the full medical insurance benefits and FICA. They don't pay these people huge salaries to begin with.