Senate Passes Federal Budget

People who said it couldn’t be done—were wrong! The Senate narrowly passed a federal budget in the early hours of Saturday morning—the first formal plan to make it through in four years. The Democratic-drafted budget calls for nearly $1 trillion in new taxes over the next ten years in an effort to protect safety-net programs. Republicans voted unilaterally against the plan, arguing that it was weaker than the House Republicans' budget—drafted by Rep. Paul Ryan—to reduce debt over the decade. The vote put an end to more than three months of exhausting budget battles, leading the Senate into a much-anticipated recess.