Mediaboss Marketing

WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- The Republican-led Senate narrowly passed a balanced-budget plan early Friday in a 52-46 vote, after slogging through dozens of amendment votes.

Only two Republicans, Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against the budget, as did all Democrats. Cruz is running for president in 2016 and Paul is considering a bid.

Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who are also considering a run for the White House, voted in favor.

"By passing a balanced budget that emphasizes growth, common sense and the needs of the middle class, Republicans have shown that the Senate is under new management and delivering on the change and responsible government the American people expect," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement after the vote.

It took some 16 hours to get through all of the amendments, many of which did little to change policy. The budget vote came in at 3:30 a.m.

The House passed its own budget earlier this week. Lawmakers will combine the two spending blueprints to form a unified budget in the coming weeks.

Related UPI Stories

2015 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Popular Photos

Notable deaths of 2014

Read more here:
Republican-controlled Senate passes budget with deep cuts