Obama hails passage of two-year budget deal

President Obama on Friday hailed the early-morning passage of a two-year budget deal that lifts spending caps and suspends the debt limit until 2017.

In a statement, Obama thanked Republicans and Democrats for passing the “responsible” budget agreement, which he argued will help grow the economy and create jobs.

{mosads}“It locks in two years of funding and should help break the cycle of shutdowns and manufactured crises that have harmed our economy,” Obama said.

The Senate approved the bipartisan deal in a 64-35 vote after 3 a.m., sending it to the White House for Obama’s signature. 

“This agreement is a reminder that Washington can still choose to help, rather than hinder, America’s progress, and I look forward to signing it into law as soon as it reaches my desk,” Obama said.

The president said the deal could boost funding for education and job training programs, while noting it also increases defense spending. He warned Republicans against adding policy riders to spending bills in December to avoid another budget fight later this year.

“Congress should build on this by getting to work on spending bills that invest in America’s priorities without getting sidetracked by ideological provisions that have no place in America’s budget process,” he said.

The deal, struck in the final days of John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) Speakership, effectively ends the fiscal battles that were a central part of Obama’s long-running feud with Republicans in Congress.

Obama’s top priority in budget talks was to lift spending caps set by the 2011 Budget Control Act, and he got what he wanted. The agreement raises spending levels above those caps by $80 billion through September 2017, all but removing the threat of a government shutdown in mid-December.

The pact also suspends the debt limit until March 16, 2017, leaving the next fight to the president’s successor and avoiding a looming Nov. 3. deadline to renew the nation’s borrowing authority.