David Lawder and Richard Cowan write the House approved the budget agreement last week by a wide margin and the Senate cleared the deal in a 64-36 vote on Wednesday.
“All told, it’s a good first step away from the shortsighted, crisis-driven decision-making that has only served to act as a drag on our economy,” President Obama said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
The measure sets annual government spending at $1.012 trillion in 2014 and 2015 and trims automatic across-the-board cuts by $63 billion over the two-year period, Lawder and Cowan write.
Reuters reports the deal seeks to replace sequester cuts with airport security fees and pension changes for working-age military retirees and incoming federal workers.