Senate Republicans pass budget plan, eye ‘Obamacare’ repeal
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed a Republican budget plan that prescribes deep domestic spending cuts to eliminate deficits by 2024 and aids the party's goal of trying to dismantle President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. The first combined House-Senate budget in six years passed 51-48 with all Senate Democrats and two Republicans voting against it, presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. Senator David Vitter, a Republican who is running for Louisiana governor this year, did not cast a vote. Senate Republicans hailed it as the first balanced budget plan since a 2001 surplus, hoping to score points among voters worried about mounting U.S. debt levels.
