Latest News

WASHINGTON – After two years of chaotic fiscal clashes, Congress on Wednesday will begin a more orderly process to get the nation's finances in order – or at least to keep the government open.

The so-called regular order on the federal budget still holds little promise of resolving the long-term federal debt or partisan divide. But it will look more like a typical bit of Congressional business and less like a deadline-driven manufactured crisis.

With the automatic cuts in the "sequestration" having begun to take effect – and the two parties unable to find an alternative that each can accept – no new immediate conflict looms.

The Republican leaders of the House Budget Committee will instead begin laying out the challenges they face in drafting a blueprint on taxes and spending designed to bring the government's budget into balance in 10 years, a goal they have set for themselves. The House is also expected to vote Wednesday on legislation to finance the government through the rest of the fiscal year, while granting more flexibility to the military to cope with the automatic spending cuts now in force.

With a forecast of heavy, slushy snow that could keep some lawmakers away from the Capitol, weather is likely to present one obstacle. The difference between the parties – with Democrats insisting that any further deficit reduction include both spending cuts and tax increases and Republicans insisting on only spending cuts – will present a bigger one over the long term.

"As we have seen over the last number of years, the differences between the two sides are going to be stark," said Senator Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat who is chairwoman of the Budget Committee.

The House's budget blueprint – the third under Budget Committee Chairman Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin – will not be formally released until next week. But already it is under fire for the promises it must keep and the deep cuts and profound changes it must make to keep those promises.

To win the acquiescence of the House's most ardent conservatives on recent legislation that suspended the government's debt ceiling until May, Mr. Ryan promised that his plan would bring the budget into balance in a decade, something his last budget projected would take nearly 30 years.

For the past two years, Mr. Ryan – the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2012 – has proposed converting Medicare into a system that gives seniors a fixed subsidy that would be used to buy insurance on the private market. But he also promised that the overhaul would not affect anyone now over 55.

That age limit will almost certainly have to rise for Medicare savings to show within the 10-year budget-balancing window, House conservatives say. That has led to misgivings among more moderate Republicans, who fear leaving themselves vulnerable to Democratic criticism of undercutting popular retirement programs. Even Speaker John A. Boehner was circumspect Tuesday.

"We'll let them work it out and see what outcome they get," he said when asked about an earlier date for the onset of Medicare changes.

Mr. Ryan is also likely to propose cuts to many programs unaffected by the automatic reductions, like food stamps, Medicaid, social service block grants and farm subsidies. He would use those savings to reduce some of the automatic cuts, including in the military.

Mr. Ryan's balancing act was made somewhat easier by the $620 billion in higher tax revenues secured by President Obama during the showdown in December over the pending expiration of all the Bush-era tax cuts. Those higher overall tax revenues are expected to show up in Mr. Ryan's budget plan, although he would then reshape the tax code with a broad overhaul.

Ms. Murray and the White House have already begun to attack the Ryan plan. In his first term, Mr. Obama and his aides frequently tried to hold up Mr. Ryan as a symbol of Republican radicalism.

Ms. Murray's budget, also likely to be unveiled next week, will use a mix of new tax revenues and shifted spending cuts to undo automatic spending cuts in 2014 and beyond.

Last week, in a memo to Senate Budget Committee members, Ms. Murray said promises by House Republican leaders not to raise any more tax revenues, to restore and protect military spending, and to balance the budget in 10 years would mean draconian cuts in every other part of the budget.

To bring the budget to balance, Mr. Ryan will need at least $4.6 trillion in new savings over the next decade, on top of nearly $3.6 trillion in deficit reduction enacted over the last two years. By excluding defense and shielding Medicare and Social Security for the rest of the decade, the Ryan budget would need to cut remaining programs by nearly 23 percent, the memo concluded.

"Every bipartisan group says to do it that fast overwhelmingly will have serious consequence on our economy, on people's ability to manage their own finances, to help the middle class get what they need in education, work force training and transportation," Ms. Murray said.

The near-term effort to keep the government funded through September appears to be going more smoothly. Trying to beat the worst of the snowstorm, the House planned to rush through legislation Wednesday that would keep domestic programs financed as they were last year, but at the levels set by the automatic spending cuts that kicked in Friday.

The bill would ease the cuts for the Defense Department by bolstering financing for the military's priorities before the cuts landed. Congress would move larger amounts toward rebuilding worn-out matériel and purchasing equipment, and away from fighting as two wars draw to a close. Overall spending levels still reflect the automatic reduction.

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, the Maryland Democrat who leads the Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday that she would demand similar changes on the domestic side of the spending bill to give priority to programs that improve economic growth now, like transportation and infrastructure, and strengthen future economic growth through science and technology.

She praised the House for moving quickly on its bill rather than flirting with a government shutdown March 27, when the current spending bill expires. But, she said, the bill "is too spartan for us because it does not contain domestic priorities."

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said Republican leaders in the House and Senate accepted that Senate Democrats wanted to put their mark on the spending plan. He said he was still sanguine that a final measure would reach Mr. Obama in time for Congress's two-week spring recess, which is set to begin March 23.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, cautiously praised the House's nonconfrontational approach to the spending plan.

"What remains to be seen is whether this move, apparently away from a crisis, is truly a shift in strategy for Republicans or just a short break from the extremism that they've had over the last few years," he said.