Highlights of John Boehner’s ‘barn-cleaning’ budget deal

(Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday said the two-year budget agreement worked out by congressional leaders would “clean the barn” of thorny legislation for his expected successor, Representative Paul Ryan.

It would lift mandatory spending caps on defense and domestic programs while extending federal borrowing authority into the next presidency.

Here are highlights of the agreement, according to Boehner’s office:

* An extension of the federal debt ceiling through March2017 would prevent a default on U.S. obligations in earlyNovember. * Caps on discretionary spending would be eased, allowing a$50 billion increase in fiscal 2016, which began on Oct. 1, anda $30 billion increase in fiscal 2017. The additional spendingwould be split equally between defense and nondefense programs. * The discretionary defense budget for fiscal year 2016would be $548.1 billion, but the military would get anadditional increase of about $8 billion a year in off-budget waroperations funding. * Social Security changes would produce a long-term savingsof $168 billion by closing loopholes to prevent disabilityrecipients from claiming larger benefits than Congress intendedand by cracking down on medical fraud. The deal staves off a 20percent cut in disability benefits that was likely to occur in2016 had there been no action. * Mandatory cuts to Medicare healthcare funding for theelderly enacted in 2011 would be extended through 2025. Newmeasures to ensure cost parity in different locations will bringtotal savings for the program to $30 billion. * Senior citizens would avoid a looming spike in premiumsfor Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits and lab tests. * Boehner said the agreement would further Republicans’efforts to dismantle President Barack Obama’s Affordable CareAct, popularly known as Obamacare, by eliminating a requirementthat workers automatically enroll in employee-sponsoredhealthcare coverage. * The deal would authorize the sale of 58 million barrelsfrom the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from 2018-2025, which wouldraise up to $3 billion. * The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp would increase premiumrates for single-employer pension plans. * Federal regulators would be required to identify 30megahertz worth of government-controlled wireless spectrum to beto be auctioned off by July 2024. A 65-megahertz wirelessauction closing in January attracted aggressive bidding andadded $45 billion to government coffers. * New tax compliance provisions, including a new ruleclarifying that partnership income is subject to taxation whenthe partnership interest is the result of a gift.

(Writing by Bill Trott and David Lawder; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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