US House passes 3.5-trillion-dollar budget plan

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2009 (AFP) – The US House of Representatives passed a 3.5-trillion-dollar budget blueprint on Thursday that signals broad support for President Barack Obama’s climate change and health care overhaul ambitions. Obama’s Democratic majority slightly streamlined his spending proposals for the fiscal year that starts October 1 amid Republican warnings about bloated spending and the exploding national debt. The Senate was expected to pass its own version later in what would be a victory for the president — even though he does not sign the framework and bitter legislative battles on his main priorities are yet to come. The House voted 233-196 to approve the budget plan, without a single vote from Republicans, who offered an alternate approach that would slash taxes and restrict spending that Democrats say is critical to reviving the US economy. “This budget is a key part of our return to prosperity; it provides the long-term investments that will make prosperity last,” Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement. “Today we have a chance to begin bringing down the cost of health care; breaking our addiction to foreign oil; creating the best-prepared workforce in the world; and returning America to fiscal health,” he said. Republican Minority Leader John Boehner denounced the plan as “a road map to disaster,” highlighting skyrocketing budget deficits that balloon the US national debt. The House and Senate will reconcile their versions of the plan, which is a non-binding spending framework that sets the stage for actual spending…