http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/senate-budget-vote-gop-116419.html?hp=t2_rSenate passes budget as negotiations with House loom ahead
Throughout “vote-a-rama,” much focus centered on the handful of Republicans mulling 2016 bids.
By Seung Min Kim and Rachael Bade
3/26/15 11:08 AM EDT
Updated 3/27/15 6:34 AM EDT
Senate Republicans corralled enough votes from fiscal conservatives and defense hawks to pass their budget on Friday, scoring a win for the new GOP majority and setting the stage for high-stakes negotiations with the House over a final budget deal.
After a marathon voting session that stretched into the morning hours on Friday, the Senate passed its spending blueprint, 52-46.
Throughout the “vote-a-rama,” much of the focus centered on the handful of Republicans mulling presidential bids in 2016: Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina backed the budget, while Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky opposed it.
“The Democrat-led Senate for years refused not only to pass a balanced budget, but any budget at all,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said following the vote. “Those days are over, and the proof is passage of a balanced plan with ideas that Congress’ nonpartisan analysts tell us would boost jobs, raise income and drive economic growth.”
Now comes the hard part: Convincing the Senate and House to agree on the same fiscal blueprint — something Congress hasn’t done in more than a half decade. The House narrowly passed its own budget on Wednesday, and the two chambers need to start hammering out a consensus spending plan as they near an April 15 deadline for producing a final budget.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/senate-budget-vote-gop-116419.html#ixzz3Vakk39Yw
