The Caucus: Senate Approves Stopgap Budget

The Senate on Thursday approved and sent to President Obama a measure that keeps the federal government open through early April, while Congressional leaders and the White House tried to strike a broader deal to fund federal agencies through Sept. 30.

The vote was 87 to 13, with nine Republicans, three Democrats and one independent opposing the measure, which imposed $6 billion in cuts to current-year spending by the federal government. The House passed the measure earlier in the week and top Senate Democrats and Republicans endorsed it as a way to avoid a government shutdown while the budget talks continue.

Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, praised the $6 billion in cuts, which come on top of $4 billion in reductions contained in the current budget bill, which expires Friday. Over 10 years, he said, the $10 billion in cuts will amount to $140 billion in savings. ?All in all, a good day?s work,? he said.

But Representative Daniel Inouye, the Hawaii Democrat who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, warned that continued cutting was bound to have a detrimental effect on federal agencies.

?How much more can we cut before we have no funds to pay employees to monitor our borders and ports?? he asked. ?How much more before we have to cancel the construction of dams, bridges, highways, levees, sewers and transit projects and throw thousands of private-sector workers onto the street??

Among those who voted against the measure was Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the freshman Republican who has pitched his own plan to balance the budget through a variety of large-scale cuts, including the elimination of several federal agencies, like the Department of Education.

Other Republicans voting no were Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah.

?We need to do more than just trim a little bit around the edges,? Mr. Lee said.

The measure keeps the government open through April 8.

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