US budget plan aims for cross-party support
US POLITICIANS from both the country’s major political parties announced a suggested budget deal yesterday, with the aim of avoiding another government shutdown.
Congressman Paul Ryan and senator Patty Murray announced the agreement in Washington yesterday, revealing an $85bn (£51.56bn) plan, including a $63bn reduction in automatic spending cuts. The rest of the package is intended to reduce the US deficit.
Murray said that the deal would avert another shutdown of the federal government, which will occur again in January if a deal on spending is not reached, adding that the US must stop moving from “crisis to crisis”.
Ryan added that if successful, the package would be the first budget deal passed by a divided government since 1986.
John Boehner, speaker in the US House of Representatives, said: “I am grateful for the work done by chairmen Ryan and Murray. While modest in scale, this agreement represents a positive step forward by replacing one-time spending cuts with permanent reforms.”
A conservative political group called FreedomWorks has already announced their intention to oppose the deal.