WASHINGTON,
Oct. 28, 2015 - A small group of negotiators who have been huddling since
September – and amazingly, kept their work secret - proposed a new budget deal, which would
increase federal spending by $80 billion over two years by cutting and
increasing revenues in other areas, raise the federal borrowing limit
through 2017, and remove the threat of government shutdowns past the 2016
elections. Here are some of the highlights:
-The federal debt ceiling would
be lifted through March 2017, preventing a potential default on U.S.
obligations on Nov. 3.
-Caps
on discretionary spending would be eased, allowing a $50 billion increase in
fiscal 2016, which began on Oct. 1, and a $30 billion increase in fiscal 2017.
The additional spending would be split equally between defense and nondefense
programs.
-Medicare Part B premiums had
been scheduled to go up drastically next year, imposing higher fees on millions
of older people. This deal stops that increase.
-The government would raise
money by selling 58 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve, a U.S. stockpile of oil.
-Another series of sales
of the wireless spectrum to telecommunications companies would be
authorized.
-Businesses could temporarily
pay lower amounts into employees' pension plans, increasing the amount of
government revenues collected from businesses because their revenues would be
higher.
-Crop insurance companies will
have to renegotiate their agreements with the federal government next year, and
their maximum rate of return would be dropped from 14.5 to 8.9 percent.
-Social Security funds will be
moved into the Disability Insurance fund, which would have had to slash benefits
next year by 19 percent.
House Speaker John Boehner said the
agreement keeps his pledge to deal with a series of difficult issues before his
successor takes office. “I didn't want him to walk into a dirty barn full of
you know what, so I've done my best to clean it up,” Boehner said. Ways and
Means Chairman Paul Ryan is expected to be elected speaker on Thursday.The
legislative text of the agreement can be read here.
The summary is here.
#30
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