Senate, Federal Budget | featured news

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday became the first prominent Republican to publicly praise, however lukewarmly, the budget proposal the White House outlined last week. Graham said that while he believes President Barack Obama's plan is overall bad for the economy, "there are nuggets of his budget that I think are optimistic," and that could set the stage for a broad bargain to put the nation's finances on a stronger footing. He was speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

A senior lawmaker said on Sunday that he and fellow Senate Democrats, for the first time more than in three years, intend to meet Republican demands to finally pass a U.S. budget.

This is what a smaller government will look like: There will be less money for local cops, but more money for FBI agents. Less to repair public-housing complexes. More to feed hungry children. There will be less to fix polluted rivers. But more to fix crowded prisons.

The Senate gave final approval Tuesday to legislation to raise the nation's debt limit by $2.4 trillion while cutting federal deficits, sending President Obama a hard-fought bipartisan package he was expected to swiftly sign into law.

Senate Majority Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Sunday night that they had come to an agreement on a deal that would raise the debt limit and reduce the deficit.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the key Republican negotiator, expressed optimism that a $3-trillion deal could be reached to avert a federal default. A Senate procedural vote is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Rival Democratic and Republican plans to raise the government's borrowing ability have thrust Congress into a standoff just one week away from a potentially devastating debt crisis.

The Senate on Friday voted along party lines against the proposal to cut spending and raise the debt limit. President Obama pressed for compromise during a town hall meeting.

President Barack Obama offered strong praise Tuesday for a deficit reduction plan put together by a bipartisan group of senators, calling the measure's mix of tax hikes and spending reforms "broadly consistent" with his own approach to the current debt ceiling crisis.

Republicans would accept a “mini” deal with the Obama administration on raising the debt limit, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, a Republican leader, said. Cornyn said today on “Fox News Sunday” that while Republicans would prefer a long-term settlement, they would accept a shorter-term agreement if that’s all they could get done. The U.S. Treasury Department has projected that on Aug. 2 the U.S. will no longer be able to meet obligations if the legal debt ceiling isn’t raised.