On Tuesday, the Senate passed the two-year budget plan formed by the bipartisan partnership of Patty Murray and Paul Ryan. It was a clear 67-33 vote, and now the deal is set to be finalized by the end of the week. “It is a step in the right direction and a dramatic improvement over the status quo,” said Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray. “I’m hopeful this deal can be just the first of many bipartisan deals, that it can rebuild some of the trust and bring Democrats and Republicans together and demonstrate that government can work for the people we all represent.”
Twelve Republicans voted for the deal and all Democrats supported it. While, Republicans may not be getting everything they had hoped for, many feel that it just may have to be enough for now. “This agreement isn’t everything I’d hoped it would be, and it isn’t what I would have written. But sometimes the answer has to be yes,” Sen. Orrin Hatch said.
“Although neither side got everything it wanted from this agreement, this legislation should help break a terrible cycle of governing by crisis,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid added.
The deal lays out a plan to lower the deficit by $23 billion over 10 years though new revenues and cuts in various programs.
