Lawmakers Announce Budget Deal

Spend! Spend! Spend! SPEND! SPEND! SPEND!

Congressional negotiators on Tuesday announced a tentative budget deal that would avoid a partial government shutdown, but also begin to unravel hard-fought spending cuts.

The lead negotiators—Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.—detailed the specifics of the proposal at an evening press conference.

"I'm proud of this agreement," Ryan said. "It reduces the deficit—without raising taxes. And it cuts spending in a smarter way. It's a firm step in the right direction, and I ask all my colleagues in the House to support it."

But the measure could face a tough climb, particularly in the House which is expected to take up the bill first. Ahead of Tuesday's announcement, fiscal conservatives raised alarm that lawmakers were proposing to roll back sequester cuts.