House Passes Two-Year Budget Deal

And vacation on! The House passed a two-year bipartisan budget plan on Thursday night, the House's last action of 2013. The Senate is poised to pass the deal next week, while votes on a new Farm Bill will be held in early January. The passing of the budget seems to signal a shift for House Republicans away from the uncompromising attitude that has driven multiple standoffs, threats of default and, oh yeah, the shutdown. If the Senate approves the bill, members of the House and Senate appropriations committees would convene during the holiday to prepare funding bills for individual government agencies, which will likely be combined into one big omnibus bill. In order for the government to stay open, that bill must pass before January 15, when the current temporary spending bill expires.