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President Obama and Congress pulled back from the brink of a crippling government shutdown at the 11th hour last night, with a deal for a $1 trillion budget plan that includes almost $38 billion in spending cuts.
“The Washington Monument and the entire federal government will be open for business,” said Obama, who spoke with the lighted monument sparkling behind him.
He said kids can now go on field trips to the nation’s capital and federal parks and museums without disruption.
Congressional Republicans agreed.
“Certainly Republicans will support it. Clearly this is the right thing to do,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) after emerging from a closed-door GOP House Conference meeting just before 11 p.m.
“We will not have a shutdown,” Issa added.
ABORTION-SERVICES AGREEMENT WAS FINAL HURDLE
EDITORIAL: THE SHUTDOWN SIDESHOW
Because it will take a few days to draft the bill’s details, Congress passed a five-day stopgap measure in the wee hours to keep the government running in the meantime. The more extensive bill will be passed next week.
A key breakthrough was settling a dispute over funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion services. Republicans sought to eliminate the funding, but backed off the demand.
In return, Obama and Democrats agreed to more than $1 billion in additional budget trims, sources said,
The plan also includes a $1.14 billion cut across all federal agencies — including the Defense Department. The military actually gets $2 billion less than under the House GOP’s initial proposal.
Meanwhile House GOP Speaker John Boehner won a concession from the White House and Dems to expand funding for the District of Columbia’s school voucher program, which provides parents taxpayer funds to send their kids to private or parochial schools.
The accord also bars the DC District from spending local tax dollars on abortion services.
Boehner appeared to successfully sell the deal to conservative freshman members closely aligned with the Tea Party movement demanding deeper spending cuts.
But there was some dissent in GOP circles.
“There are a lot of people who will vote no on this,” said Rep. Steven King (R-Iowa) after storming out of the GOP meeting.
Earlier yesterday, it looked as if bumbling Washington politicians were on the verge of causing a shutdown before they put aside their partisan sniping and cooler heads prevailed. It also seemed both sides were trying to exploit a budget shutdown for partisan advantage.
Democrats used the showdown to gin up campaign cash from supporters.
“The issue Republicans refuse to budge on is defunding women’s health care,” said the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee in an e-mail solicitation to donors.
“We only have $42,197 left to raise to meet our goal. Can you help kick in $5 before midnight?” the e-mail read.
Republicans warned that a shutdown could benefit Obama.
Karl Rove, former President George W. Bush’s top political adviser, noted that a government shutdown 15 years ago helped boost the re-election prospects of Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton.
A shutdown would have embarrassed Obama and Congress a week after Gov. Cuomo and the much-maligned New York Legislature passed an on-time budget with spending cuts.
Crisis averted
Heart of the deal
* $38 billion in spending cuts, called the largest real-dollar spending cut in American history.
* $500 billion in cuts over 10 years.
* Does not include Planned Parenthood funding, which will be decided in a separate vote next week.
* To protect Planned Parenthood, Democrats agree to an extra $1 billion in cuts.
* Both parties agree to pass stopgap spending bill to keep government running until the full deal can be voted on.