U.S. Capitol Building and Reflecting Poll (Photo: house.gov)
MSNBC.com:
In a step to avert a government shutdown before the current funding measure expires later this week, the House has passed a two-week spending bill would cut federal spending by $4 billion.
The vote was 335-91, with six Republicans opposing the GOP-authored measure. On the other side of the aisle, 104 Democrats voted for it, while 85 voted against the bill.
The Republican-backed stopgap bill was considered palatable by many Democrats because it drew on suggestions made by President Barack Obama in his budget for this year.
The short-term spending bill reduces total spending by $4 billion compared to what would have been spent at current levels over the same period. However, unlike earlier proposals, the cuts come from proposals that were made by the administration, not House Republicans, so both sides find the cuts acceptable. With Harry Reid saying it will pass the Senate, the measure will postpone a major confrontation that could lead to government shutdown.
Both the White House and congressional Democrats would have preferred to see a longer-term spending bill, but Republicans insisted on two weeks and say they will demand weekly authorizations after that.
In all likelihood, we'll end up seeing this process repeated a few more times—short-term spending bills with slight reductions in the overall spending level. At some point, Republicans will propose specific cuts that Democrats find unacceptable, and that's when the serious standoff will begin, with Democrats likely offering an alternative such as reducing tax subsidies for oil companies to GOP spending cuts.