Senate Passes Budget to Avoid Another Shutdown (for Now)

The Senate passed a federal budget on Wednesday that would finance the government through 2015 and help avoid a potential shutdown until the end of that year. It passed by a vote of 64-36 after the House overwhelmingly sent it through last week, 332-94.

Federal spending in 2014 would be capped at $1.012 trillion; the total budget includes $63 billion in sequester relief and savings of $85 billion.

The deal, which was brokered by House Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senator Patty Walsh (D-Wash.), doesn't shrink the country's debt or lessen federal spending, which Republicans were in favor of. But it doesn't raise taxes or put money back in domestic programs, either, both of which Democrats had hoped for. In the end, it's "something for everyone to dislike," as put by the Los Angeles Times. Read more...