The new budget bill would raise military and domestic spending by almost $300 billion over the next two years. With no offsets in the form of other spending cuts or new tax revenues, that additional spending would be financed by borrowed money.
The delay gave Paul a chance to speak his peace, but it was not expected to block the bill in the Senate. The deal, crafted by Senate leaders on Wednesday, would stave off a government shutdown before a deadline on Thursday night, while extending the government’s debt ceiling until March 2019.
If the Senate approves it, the bill will move to the House of Representatives, where a vote was planned for late in the evening and its passage was widely expected but not assured amid resistance from lawmakers of both parties.
Final passage of the bill would remove some uncertainty from U.S. financial markets at a turbulent time. Stocks plunged on Thursday on heavy volume, throwing off course a nearly nine-year bull run. The S&P 500 slumped 3.8 percent.
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