White House, Congress reach tentative U.S. budget deal

[Yahoo! News]

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By Roberta Rampton and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and congressional leaders reached a two-year budget deal overnight that would lift mandatory sequestration cuts on both defense and domestic spending and raise the federal debt ceiling, averting a fiscal standoff as the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives prepares for new leadership. A White House official said on Tuesday the compromise deal would protect Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries from cuts and urged members of Congress from both parties to pass it. House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders raced to finalize the deal, which included extending the debt ceiling until March 2017, on Monday night, before he transfers power to his expected successor, Paul Ryan.

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