- The Washington Times - Sunday, March 13, 2011

Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday that a new compromise federal budget deal is likely to be approved this week despite lingering questions from freshmen Republicans in the House.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said: “We will get it through. We will pass the stopgap. We don’t think this is the pattern we need to follow in the future.”

Mr. McCarthy, House majority whip, was joined on the program by Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, who also predicted the budget would be approved.

Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said the new deal, introduced by House Republicans on Friday, is a reasonable compromise with Democrats, who felt the earlier, tea-party-backed GOP budget cut “way too far.”

“We’re not going to balance America’s budget in the next six months,” Mr. Durbin said on CNN, “so let’s not do the things that will harm us for a long time to come.”

House Republicans on Friday introduced a three-week spending bill that once again would forestall a government shutdown when the current stopgap expires this week. The bill includes cuts of about $6 billion from 2010 spending levels but removes “riders” that would have called for defunding Planned Parenthood and the new health care law.

Fiscal hard-liners, especially among tea party activists, have urged the freshmen Republicans to oppose further continuing resolutions to fund the government until more dramtic cuts in spending are made.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, appearing later Sunday morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said that if the freshman Republicans don’t go along with the deal, House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, may have to cobble together votes with Democrats.

• David Eldridge can be reached at deldridge@washingtontimes.com.

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