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 House Speaker John Boehner told fellow Republicans he was clearing
the way for a vote on Wednesday on the double-barreled measure,
which would bust strict spending caps by $80 billion over the next
two years in order to pump up defense and domestic programs.
It also would extend the Treasury Department's borrowing authority
until March 2017.
While Senate action is not yet nailed down and lawmakers will flirt
with a Nov. 3 deadline for raising the government's debt limit,
Congress appeared to be on a smoother track than in past years when
faced with fiscal deadlines.
In 2011, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S.
government's debt rating, shaking global financial markets, as
Republicans held out for tougher demands than Democrats were willing
to accept.
A year later, a "fiscal cliff" involving expiring tax cuts and
looming deep spending cuts similarly had world economies on edge,
with a deal being negotiated as the clock struck midnight on New
Year's Eve.
 Boehner - taking a victory lap on Tuesday on the budget and debt
limit deal he worked out with fellow congressional leaders and the
White House - told reporters: "It's going to pass with a bipartisan
majority, and I'll be really happy."
The Ohio lawmaker is set to retire from Congress on Friday, having
been ousted by Republican conservative rebels who want more
aggressive challenges to Democratic President Barack Obama's
economic and social policies. Representative Paul Ryan appears to be
on track to replace Boehner when the House elects a new speaker on
Thursday.
Ryan told reporters he was reserving judgment on the agreement until
he reviewed its details.
In a nod to rebellious fellow Republicans clamoring for changes in
the way the Republican-controlled House is run, Ryan added, "I think
this process stinks," hinting that "under new management" work will
get done well before deadlines.
Vice President Joe Biden said the deal "will prevent us from
lurching from crisis to crisis," and other administration officials
said it would protect Social Security and Medicare recipients from
cuts.
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White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason Furman said
the added government spending could help create 340,000 jobs in
2016.
Even if the agreement is enacted, Ryan will face an early test as
Congress must approve specific new spending for federal programs by
Dec. 11 or risk shutting down much of the government. The two-year
budget deal provides top-line spending numbers; appropriators will
have to hash out specifics.
Representative Thomas Massie, a hard-line conservative, acknowledged
that he and other opponents of the higher spending will not be able
to stop the broad budget and debt limit deal. "We're going to lose,"
he told reporters.
To help pay for the additional spending, 58 million barrels of oil
from U.S. emergency reserves held at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
would be sold over six years, starting in fiscal 2018.
Central to the pact is the easing of across-the-board budget caps,
which would allow the additional $80 billion in spending over two
years, split evenly between military and domestic programs. About
$50 billion in added spending would come in fiscal 2016, which
started on Oct. 1, and $30 billion would be added to the fiscal 2017
budget.
(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Doina Chiacu and Jeff
Mason; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh,
Mohammad Zargham and Jonathan Oatis)
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