The Washington Examiner reports that Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives have arrived at a budget deal. Basically, Republicans agreed to lift spending caps, keep the government funded, and increase spending in return for some entitlement reforms and some tweaks of Obamacare.
Read the story after the jump. A good deal? Bad deal? At least the House is no longer paralyzed?
From Susan Ferrechio, Budget deal: GOP trades spending hike for entitlement reform | Washington Examiner:
An imminent budget deal between Republicans, Democrats and President Obama would raise federal spending beyond mandated caps for two years in exchange for “significant reform” to Social Security Disability Insurance.
The deal, which is not final, would also suspend the nation’s borrowing limit until March of 2017, according to a source familiar with the developing accord. The current debt limit is $18.1 trillion, and suspending it would allow the government to continue borrowing without limit until early 2017. . . .
The tentative agreement required tradeoffs between the two parties and for Republicans, it accomplished a major goal of entitlement reform by tackling the nearly bankrupt SSDI, which the U.S. Treasury has warned would reach insolvency as early as 2016.
The source did not disclose the details of the SSDI reforms, but said the move would forestall an across-the-board 20 percent cut that was in the cards, in exchange for “structural reforms,” that would strengthen it and save $168 billion in “longterm” savings.
But Republicans were also forced to make concessions, including a “clean” debt limit hike, which is opposed by dozens of House Republicans who want to reduce the $18.1 trillion debt.
Republicans also agreed to an increase in spending that is spread equally across both domestic and defense accounts. According to the source, the two sides agreed to hike spending beyond the caps by $50 billion in 2016 and $30 billion in 2017. The budget caps would not only remain in place under the deal but would be extended to 2025, which will force Congress to constantly seek savings every time it raises spending levels, likely through “mandatory entitlement programs,” the source said.
Republicans also won an Obamacare concession from Democrats. If the deal becomes final, it would eliminate the health care law’s auto enrollment for workers, which currently forces them into employer-sponsored health care coverage whether or not they want it.
And, the deal includes a provision to eliminate increases to Medicare premiums and deductibles. It is “initially fully offset” in the budget, which suggests later on Congress will have to find new ways to pay for the fix or it will add to the deficit.
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