White House and Congress Reach Budget Deal, Sources Say

The White House and Congressional leaders have agreed on a two-year budget deal that will raise the debt limit and the spending limits set by the so-called sequestration process, according to sources close to the negotiations. The increased spending will be equally divided between defense and non-defense spending — increasing spending caps by $25 billion each in fiscal 2016 and by $15 billion each in fiscal 2017, according to a source briefed on the package.

If passed, the deal would remove the threat of a government shutdown or default before the 2016 elections — said to be a goal of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). And it fulfills the desire of outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to “clean the barn up a little bit” in order to make life easier for his successor, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who did not take part in the negotiations.

To read more about the deal, see http://thehill.com/policy/finance/258091-white-house-gop-near-two-year-budget-deal