WASHINGTON (AP) The Democrat-controlled Senate was expected to approve a bipartisan budget agreement next week, sealing a spending deal that would prevent a repeat of last month's damaging government shutdown and restore money for the U.S. military and domestic agencies that had been slashed in automatic cuts.
The House of Representatives voted to pass the budget Thursday by a lopsided 332-94 margin after a surprising about-face by Speaker John Boehner. The leader blasted the tea party wing of his Republican caucus and outside conservative groups for leading members astray and hurting the party by having forced the government shutdown two months ago. Until he came out in support of the new deal, Boehner had largely bowed to pressure from the hard right. Republican approval among voters, polls showed, has plummeted.
When signed into law by President Barack Obama, as expected, the spending plan eases a brutal philosophical fight over government funding that has gripped the nation since Republicans retook control of the House in 2010, giving them sufficient power to bring the legislative process to a grinding halt.
While House Democrats were upset the budget did not include an extension of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, they voted overwhelming for the plan after Senate Democrats promised to force a vote on extending unemployment benefits when the chamber reconvenes next year. They hope that political pressure after 1.3 million people lose their benefits on Dec. 28 will force Republican leaders to extend aid averaging less than $300 a week to people who've been out of work longer than six months.
The vote in the House was a big win for Boehner, who earlier in the day criticized conservative interest groups that routinely attack Republicans for supporting legislation they deem not conservative enough.
