U.S. congressional leaders forge budget deal that adds to deficit

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. Senate leaders, in a rare display of bipartisanship, reached a two-year budget deal yesterday to raise government spending by almost $300 billion, attempting to curb Washington’s fiscal policy squabbling but also widening the federal deficit.

The agreement was announced by the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and backed by House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, but House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi spoke out against it in a marathon speech on the House floor.

As a deadline neared on Thursday for passage of a short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown, highstakes votes were expected in both chambers of Congress.

The timing of the votes was unclear as Pelosi ended her eight-hour speech early last evening.

The deal appeared to have bipartisan support in the Senate, but it could face resistance among conservative House Republicans concerned about the deficit impact.If the Senate deal is approved, it would then go to Republican President Donald Trump for him to sign into law.

Trump, who campaigned for the presidency on a promise to boost military spending, gave his support to the budget deal in a tweet on Wednesday night. “Republicans and Democrats must support our troops and support this bill!” Trump said.

The Senate deal would lift caps first imposed in 2011 on defense funding and domestic spending. It would also extend the federal government’s debt ceiling until March 2019, defusing a contentious issue and putting off for more than a year the risk of a debt default, which had loomed next month.