Tag: Jeff Flake

Budget deal now has enough votes to pass Senate

The Fix

Budget deal now has enough votes to pass Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) appears to have the votes needed to push a budget agreement over the finish line. (AP)
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) appears to have the votes needed to push a budget agreement over the finish line. (AP)

This item has been updated.

A bipartisan budget agreement already passed overwhelmingly by the House now appears to have sufficient support to survive a key procedural test vote in the U.S. Senate later this week.

Final passage of the bill with a simple majority of senators doesn’t appear in doubt — but the legislation written by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) must first clear a procedural hurdle to end formal debate and proceed to final passage.

Supporters must garner at least 60 votes to proceed to final passage of the legislation. Assuming all 55 members of the Senate Democratic caucus vote “yes,” they will need at least five Republicans to join them. Continue reading “Budget deal now has enough votes to pass Senate”

Budget agreement poised to advance in the Senate

Post Politics

Budget agreement poised to advance in the Senate

  • By Ed O’Keefe and Paul Kane December 13 at 2:48 pm
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

A bipartisan budget agreement overwhelmingly approved by the House appears likely to survive any procedural challenges and ultimately pass the Senate, according to interviews with key Republican senators.

The House voted 332 to 94 on Thursday night to approve a two-year budget outline, and Senate debate is expected to begin Tuesday, with a final vote expected later next week. While the measure will need just a majority of senators to pass, it first must clear a procedural vote requiring at least 60 votes in support. The 55 members of the Senate Democratic caucus who have signaled general support for the plan will need at least five Republican senators to join them. Continue reading “Budget agreement poised to advance in the Senate”

John Boehner’s offer puts President Obama on the spot

 John Boehner’s offer puts President Obama on the spotBy: Carrie Budoff Brown and Jonathan Allen
October 10, 2013 03:34 PM EDT
John Boehner and Barack Obama are pictured. | AP Photos
President Barack Obama may get the clean debt limit extension he’s been demanding, but it wouldn’t be a clean victory.By adopting the House GOP plan to raise the debt ceiling, Obama would avoid a potentially crippling blow to the economy and, in the White House’s view, finally break Republicans of their habit of seeking concessions each time the debt ceiling needs to be raised.

But the downsides are significant. The federal government might not immediately reopen, there’s no guarantee Republicans would stop using the debt limit as leverage in the future and Obama could find himself in the same position once the temporary extension expires.

(PHOTOS: 25 great shutdown quotes) Continue reading “John Boehner’s offer puts President Obama on the spot”
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