Obama Signs Emergency Spending Bill
The Washington Post reports:
President Obama on Wednesday signed a stopgap measure that will keep the federal government funded through March 18, averting a shutdown for two more weeks while congressional leaders head to the White House to broker a longer-term deal.
The resolution, which passed the Senate earlier Wednesday 91 to 9, will cut $4 billion in spending by targeting programs that Obama has already marked for elimination and reductions. That's far less than House Republicans had wanted to cut, but with the clock ticking and public opinion sharply divided, GOP leaders were willing to make concessions.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) announced after the vote Wednesday that the White House had invited leaders of both parties to meet withVice President Biden to come up with a plan that would continue federal funding through the remainder of the fiscal year. The talks could begin this week, a Senate Democratic leadership aide said.
Obama said in a statement that he would enlist Biden, White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley and budget director Jacob J. Lew to work with congressional leaders to hash out a long-term agreement.
"I'm pleased that Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together and passed a plan that will cut spending and keep the government running for the next two weeks. But we cannot keep doing business this way," Obama said after the Senate passed the two-week resolution. "Living with the threat of a shutdown every few weeks is not responsible, and it puts our economic progress in jeopardy."
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