Boehner & Reid Reach a Deal to Keep Gov't Funded

The top Republican and Democrat on Capitol Hill have announced an agreement to keep the government running on autopilot for six months when the current budget year ends on Sept. 30. The announcements by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP House Speaker John Boehner are aimed at averting any chance of a government shutdown this fall.

"The temporary spending bill is needed because Congress has been unable to pass a series of appropriations bills to fund the government in fiscal 2013, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2013," CNBC adds.

It would also lighten the crush of business in a post-election congressional session agenda that's already overloaded.

The agreement would fund the government at levels called for by last summer's budget and debt pact between Boehner and President Barack Obama. The agreement embraces spending at a total annualized rate of $1.047 trillion for the day-to-day operations of Cabinet departments like the Pentagon and other federal agencies.

However, it's important to note the following from CNBC's John Harwood: "Republicans had sought to reduce the $1.047 trillion level set for discretionary spending bills for fiscal 2013 by $19 billion. But to secure an extension that reaches well into next year, they agreed to put their bid for deeper cuts on hold."

But there might be something else to this other than simply abandoning their proposed cuts.

"Should Republicans win big in November, the six-month extension would put them in a position for deeper cuts next year, rather than leaving spending decisions to a post-election, lame-duck Congress," Harwood reports, adding that the agreement doesn't raise the debt ceiling or solve the "fiscal cliff" problem.

The Associated Press contribute to this report.