Newsroom

December 18, 2013

Bipartisan budget deal passes Senate

The Senate on Wednesday approved a bipartisan, House-passed two-year budget deal by a vote of 64-36.

The deal sets discretionary spending at $1.012 trillion for the current fiscal year and $1.014 trillion in fiscal 2015. The House passed the bill last week, voting 332-94, before ending its session for 2013.

The president is expected to sign the bill before he leaves for his holiday vacation.

The Senate also voted, 71-29, to move forward on H.R. 3304, the vehicle for the National Defense Authorization Act, which was cleared by the House last week. Wednesday's vote cuts off any opportunity for filibuster and allows a vote on passage to proceed. That vote could occur at any time.

H.R. 3304 makes no changes in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and Military Lending Act, which both affect credit unions serving any military servicemembers.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., an author of the budget deal, said a "technical error" in the budget, which cuts retirement benefits of disabled veterans will be fixed. "This technical error certainly can, should and will be addressed," she said on Wednesday. She assured retired veterans with disabilities that they will not see a lapse in their benefits.