[ti:Fight Over Spending Is Just Beginning in Washington] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:IN THE NEWS] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS [00:05.45]in VOA Special English. [00:08.84]A week ago, [00:10.18]the United States government [00:11.97]was preparing to suspend [00:14.36]some of its operations [00:15.90]for lack of a budget. [00:18.14]But late last Friday, [00:20.53]negotiators reached a deal. [00:23.02]This Thursday, both houses [00:25.96]of Congress approved it [00:27.76]and sent it to President [00:29.50]Obama to sign into law. [00:31.94]SOUND: "On this vote, [00:33.19]the yeas are eighty-one, [00:34.40]the nays are nineteen. [00:35.74]The bill is passed." [00:37.73]That was the vote in the Senate. [00:40.23]The measure provides money [00:42.78]through the end of the budget year [00:45.07]in September. [00:46.51]It cuts more than thirty-eight [00:49.59]billion dollars [00:50.79]in non-defense spending. [00:53.18]Negotiators cut more than [00:56.31]most Democratic Party lawmakers [00:58.51]wanted, but less than [01:00.65]most Republicans wanted. [01:03.05]Fifty-nine Republicans [01:05.74]in the Republican-controlled House [01:08.48]of Representatives [01:09.67]voted against the deal. [01:11.61]Many were elected last November [01:14.94]with support from the conservative [01:17.58]Tea Party coalition. [01:19.67]House Speaker John Boehner said [01:22.91]the bill is not perfect, [01:24.50]but a good start. [01:25.99]On Friday, Republicans in the House [01:29.87]passed a plan by Budget Committee [01:32.67]Chairman Paul Ryan. [01:33.92]The plan aims for six trillion dollars [01:38.54]in savings over ten years, [01:40.84]starting in twenty-twelve. [01:43.48]But the plan faces [01:45.97]strong opposition in the Senate, [01:48.01]where Democrats are in control. [01:50.70]President Obama condemned [01:53.78]the Republican plan earlier this week. [01:56.98]Instead he called for four trillion [02:00.91]dollars in government spending cuts [02:03.15]and higher taxes for wealthy Americans [02:06.98]over twelve years. [02:09.17]A major part of the Ryan plan [02:13.05]would change Medicare from a program [02:16.34]that directly pays medical bills [02:18.93]for retired people. [02:20.72]Instead, people would get money [02:23.51]to buy health insurance [02:25.50]from private companies. [02:26.90]The idea is that competition [02:30.43]would save money. [02:31.97]But Democrats say the plan [02:34.81]would increase costs for older adults [02:37.81]and end the forty-six-year-old [02:40.70]Medicare program as it now exists. [02:43.67]The Ryan plan would also [02:46.60]reduce money for Medicaid, [02:48.16]a joint federal [02:50.25]and state health care program [02:52.09]for the poor and disabled. [02:54.63]Congress and the president [02:57.21]must now turn their attention [02:58.91]to issues like the budget [03:00.90]for next year and the debt limit. [03:03.48]The debt limit is the amount [03:06.37]of money that the government [03:07.56]is permitted to borrow. [03:08.96]The current limit is more than [03:11.99]fourteen trillion dollars [03:13.78]-- nearly equal to all the goods [03:16.98]and services produced [03:18.92]in the United States in a year. [03:21.21]The government is expected [03:23.95]to reach that limit next month. [03:26.44]But the Treasury Department [03:29.18]cannot borrow more money [03:31.32]by selling bonds [03:32.62]unless Congress acts. [03:34.91]Republicans are threatening [03:37.39]to reject Mr. Obama's request [03:39.84]to raise the debt limit [03:42.18]unless he agrees [03:43.52]to bigger spending cuts. [03:45.32]But Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says [03:49.30]the United States might miss payments [03:52.54]on its debts and create [03:54.43]another economic crisis. [03:56.77]TIMOTHY GEITHNER: "I think it would make [04:00.59]the crisis we just went [04:01.64]through look modest in comparison. " [04:02.93]Steve Hess at Moody's Investor Service says [04:06.83]if lenders were really worried, [04:09.17]they would raise the interest rates [04:11.42]they charge on loans to the government. [04:14.22]STEVE HESS: "If you look at the market, [04:15.91]it does not seem that the wrangling [04:17.90]so far has had a big effect [04:21.34]on the government's cost of borrowing. " [04:23.34]And that's IN THE NEWS [04:25.18]in VOA Special English. [04:28.41]For news and activities [04:30.71]for English learners anytime, [04:32.95]go to 51voa.com. [04:37.43]And you can find us on Facebook [04:40.22]and Twitter at VOA Learning English. [04:44.60]I'm Mario Ritter.