Bipartisan Budget Said to Ease Automatic Spending Cuts

bloomberg.com

“The compromise, worked out between chief negotiators Senator Patty Murray and Representative Paul Ryan, would set spending at about $1 trillion in 2014, higher than the $967 billion required in a 2011 budget accord, according to an aide close to the talks who requested anonymity to discuss the deal.

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“The main components of the deal include selling off government-owned airwaves, raising the contributions that federal employees make to their retirement plans and increasing premiums for pensions backed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., according to the congressional aide.

“Republicans are hoping to sell the deal to wary rank-and-file by emphasizing that it will reduce the deficit by an additional $20 billion in the form of increased fees. Those include raising the fees paid by airline passengers, or boosting the so-called Sept. 11 security fee on airline tickets. “