In Senate, 2012 federal budget drama could take bipartisan turn
The House passed its federal budget bill Friday on a near party-line vote, but both the Senate and the president are working hard to forge a bipartisan alternative.
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hold a meeting with Erskine Bowles (2nd l.) and former Sen. Alan Simpson (3rd r.) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington Thursday.
Jewel Samad/AFP/Newscom
Washington
The new House budget for 2012 draws heavily on the vision of a one-man think tank, Rep. Paul Ryan (R) of Wisconsin, who called today’s vote a “defining moment.”
The plan, which passed today on a near party-line vote, 235 to 193, aims to lop some $5.8 trillion off federal spending over the next 10 years. It would do this mainly by embracing Congressman Ryan's signature issue – overhauling entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid – but also by cutting the federal workforce by 10 percent and setting a binding cap on total spending as a percentage of the economy.
But the path ahead signals a completely different means of lawmaking. Where the House's so-called "Ryan bill" is associated with only one man, both the Senate and the president are focusing on trying to build bipartisan consensus.
Page 1 of 4
