House and Senate budget negotiators Monday agreed to a detailed plan for spending $1.012 trillion to keep the federal government running.
Parts of the government could be subject to a shutdown Wednesday if new spending legislation is not adopted, but the compromise plan is expected to win approval.
The measure fills in the blanks -- with about 1,600 pages of text -- left by the agreement reached in December.
It repeals recently adopted cuts to cost of living adjustments for disabled military retirees and survivors.
And it spends at an annual rate higher than last fiscal year's rate of $986 billion.
"We are pleased to have come to a fair, bipartisan agreement on funding the government for 2014," said Senate Appropriations Chairman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., in a joint statement.
"Although our differences were many and our deadline short, we were able to a draft a solid piece of legislation that meets the guidelines of the Ryan-Murray deal, keeps the government open, and eliminates the uncertainty and economic instability of stop-gap governing.
"Furthermore, our legislation includes a bipartisan fix to repeal last year’s cut to COLAs for disabled military retirees and survivors.
“As with any compromise, not everyone will like everything in this bill, but in this divided government a critical bill such as this simply cannot reflect the wants of only one party. We believe this is a good, workable measure that will serve the American people well, and we encourage all our colleagues to support it this week.”
The House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday, followed by the Senate later in the week. Congress is expected to approve a three-day stopgap measure to keep the government open until final passage of the broad agreement is adopted.
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