Closer to a budget "deal".

In order to avoid a government shutdown . Congress and the House was left to scramble a "deal" about the budget just to avoid a government shutdown. The Senate passed a short-term budget measure this afternoon to fund the government beyond March 27, which would avert a government shutdown but keep most of the budget cuts under sequestration in place.

Passing the Senate on a 69 to 30 vote, the Continuing Resolution would fund the government for the next six months, and it’s widely expected to pass the House tomorrow. It makes a number of select adjustments to the $85 billion in spending cuts that took effect March 1, attempting to soften the blow of the across-the-board reductions. The changes including higher funding levels for a handful of different programs, including meat inspection and tuition help for military service members, in addition to tweaks to military and defense that the House included in its original CR. The U.S. House narrowly approved a conservative budget plan authored by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, 221-207, on Thursday on a largely party-line vote.The fiscal blueprint does not have the force of law but outlines the GOP's priorities over a 10-year budget window to reduce the deficit and overhaul the Medicare system.No Democrats voted for the plan. "House Republicans decided to double down on the failed policies that the American people rejected just a few months ago," said Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash. The bill doesn't reverse the sequestration cuts that have hit federal agencies, including the Defense Department, across the board. It does, however, give the Defense Department and other domestic programs extra funding. Additionally, an amendment was added to stop from furloughing meat inspectors. The Senate, however, rejected an amendment that would have allocated money to keep White House tours from shutting down -- one of the unpopular effects of sequestration. Nobody in Washington has earned the right to pat themselves on the back for ANYTHING, and That includes Obama, Congress and the Senate.! Instead of a pat on the back; every last one of these dunderheads should get hit in the head with a shovel as they flee Washington for another unearned vacation. "We the People" need to keep in mind that; in addition to paying for our own destruction; through the stalling machinations of these corrupt politicians;are also paying them to take these vacations. I think it's about time Americans demand that; for every dollar we send to Washington, we should get our moneys worth from these jerks. This is the way it will be from now on in the United States. Neither major political party is capable of putting together a reasonable budget because they own their allegiance to various business groups but do not want to alienate too many voters so they will just continue with the funding bills and thereby dodge the difficult issues that would be necessary to address our continued defict spending. The Democrats refuse to cut spending and the Republicans refuse to increase revenue. There is currently an impasse and it will never, ever be resolved. Plan your life accordingly.