Senate Democrats press ahead on spending bills

WASHINGTON (AP) — With efforts on a broader budget deal foundering, Senate Democrats moved ahead Thursday with spending bills that ignore a second year of spending cuts mandated under the 2011 budget and debt deal.

The Democratic-led appropriations panel added $91 billion to the spending “cap” called for under current law, setting out on a collision course with the GOP-dominated House, which has opted to stick within the top-line spending limit mandated by Washington’s inability to follow up the 2011 law with another deficit-reduction deal. The GOP plan, however, violates the 2011 pact by shifting money from domestic programs like Amtrak to the Pentagon.