{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pattyinnews?ContentRecord_id=47d59e4f-fb86-44b8-8eb8-8fd37bfb17cc", "Murray, Ryan: New budget deal brings stability, will restore credibility", "2013-12-10", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "WA", "Patty Murray", "M001111", "www.murray.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "A new bipartisan budget agreement, hammered out with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., as a lead negotiator, promises to end nearly three years of fiscal crises that have paralyzed Washington, D.C., provide relief from the budget sequester and avoid another federal government shutdown.\r\n\u201cWe have brought certainty and stability,\u201d Murray said in an interview.\u00a0 \u201cAgencies will again be able to plan their budgets. We won\u2019t have more furloughs of employees.\u00a0 Stability will bring back confidence, and the country can get on with celebrating the Christmas holiday.\u201d\r\nMurray is chair of the Senate Budget Committee.\u00a0 She worked with Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee and the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee.\r\nThey struck a deal capping spending at $1.015 trillion for the current fiscal year, going up to 1.04 trillion in FY 2015.\u00a0 This is higher than the $967 billion had there been another round of sequestration cuts.\u00a0 The additional money will come from higher airline passenger fees and higher contributions by federal employees to their pensions.\r\nThe agreement eliminated $65 billion in across-the-board cuts, to both domestic and defense spending, set to take effect over the next two years.\u00a0 It provides for an additional $25 billion in deficit relief.\r\nThe Republicans did not get sweeping reforms (and cuts) they sought in Medicare and Social Security, two landmark Democratic social programs of the 20th century.\r\nThe Democrats had to leave one key issue on the table.\u00a0 An estimated 1.3 million Americans will lose their unemployment benefits on Dec. 28.\u00a0 \u201cThe House Speaker\u2019s office, the Senate majority leader and the White House are still working on that. It is important to get an extension,\u201d Murray said.\r\nEx-Labor Secretary Robert Reich, a voice of the Democratic left, criticized the agreement for not helping those about to lose benefits, saying:\u00a0 \u201cBad for them, bad for the economy.\u201d\r\nBut President Obama argued in a statement that the agreement avoids harmful cuts, protects core social spending and prevents a government shutdown.\u00a0 The agreement, said Obama, demonstrates that cool heads in both parties were \u201cable to come together and break the cycle of short-sighted, crisis-driven decision making to get this done.\u201d\r\nMurray said she and Ryan talked about the dysfunction and growing public disgust with Congress.\u00a0 \u201cNot only did I set out to get the best deal for my constituents, but I also felt we needed to rebuild trust and confidence that divided government can work.\u00a0 Both of us wanted government to work.\u201d\r\nThe Murray-Ryan plan, while limited, breaks through the partisan gridlock and recent dysfunction in Washington, D.C., underscored by the federal government shutdown and near default in October.\r\nThe deal must now be sold to Congress.\u00a0 It was announced at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time.\u00a0 Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., an ambitious Tea Party Republican, was out with a statement denouncing it at 6:33 p.m. Such right-wing groups as Americans for Prosperity and Heritage Action vowed to fight it.\r\nA populist Northwest Democrat, Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, tweeted:\u00a0 \u201cThe Republicans forced a weenie budget deal.\u00a0 This plan won\u2019t create jobs, get the economy back on track, or meaningfully cut the deficit.\u201d\r\nBut party leaders were moving to back the plan.\u00a0 The deal is \u201ca step in the right direction on the path toward economic security,\u201d Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., a member of the House Republican leadership, tweeted as the agreement was announced.\r\n\u201cIn divided government you don\u2019t always get what you want,\u201d Ryan told a capital news conference.\u00a0 \u201cI think conservatives should vote for this.\u00a0 I think we will pass it through the House.\u00a0 I have every reason to expect great support from our caucus.\u201d\r\nMurray argued that dysfunction in Washington, D.C., was being felt on Main Street in Washington state.\r\n\u201cI talk to a lot of businesses,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve spoken with pizza parlors in Kitsap County. Families were not going out on Friday nights because breadwinners had been furloughed. I talked to large businesses that depend on defense contracts, which have not been hiring and have not been able to plan. The certainty is very, very important.\u201d\r\nHouse Speaker John Boehner tweeted:\u00a0 \u201cBudget agreement reduces deficit without raising taxes, makes smarter spending cuts, protects national security.\u201d\r\nThe House wants to adjourn for Christmas break by Friday, meaning right-wing groups have little time to stop the budget agreement.\u00a0 (Congress\u2019 lower chamber is scheduled to meet only 113 days all of next year.)\u00a0 A vote is likely on Thursday.\u00a0 The Senate is slated to meet into next week.\r\nOnce the \u201cmom in tennis shoes\u201d from Shoreline, Murray is in her fourth term and a major power in the \u201cother\u201d Washington.\u00a0 The onetime preschool teacher has repeatedly been tasked to do the heavy lifting for Senate Democrats.\u00a0 She co-chaired the 2011 \u201csuper committee\u201d that sought and failed to reach a budget accord.\u00a0 She chaired the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, which had a spectacularly successful 2012 election.\r\nMurray offered kudos to Ryan, saying:\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s had the courage to stand up\u201d and work out a compromise.\u00a0 As for herself, \u201cI can go home and do my Christmas shopping.\u201d\r\n- Seattle PI", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pattyinnews?ContentRecord_id=47d59e4f-fb86-44b8-8eb8-8fd37bfb17cc"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.430062111467123, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}