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Dick Durbin: Budget Deal Still Short Of Votes To Pass Senate

Dem Senator Says Budget Deal Still Short Of Votes To Pass
Reuters
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 16: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) speaks at a press conference after successfully pushing a bipartisan bill through the U.S. Senate to restart the government and raise the debt limit at the U.S. Capitol October 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. The bill still needs to be approved by the house. If the bill is signed into law, it will fund the government until January 15, 2014 and allow the government to pay bills until February 7, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 16: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) speaks at a press conference after successfully pushing a bipartisan bill through the U.S. Senate to restart the government and raise the debt limit at the U.S. Capitol October 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. The bill still needs to be approved by the house. If the bill is signed into law, it will fund the government until January 15, 2014 and allow the government to pay bills until February 7, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Senate Democrats are still short of the votes needed to pass a budget deal that would avoid a government shutdown in January and blunt automatic spending cuts, Senator Dick Durbin, the chamber's No. 2 Democrat, said on Sunday.

"The struggle is still on in the United States Senate. We will need about eight Republicans to come our way. I feel we'll have a good strong showing from the Democratic side, but we need bipartisan support to pass it," Durbin, of Illinois, said on the CBS "Face the Nation" program.

The Republican-led House of Representatives on a broad bipartisan vote last week passed the budget deal negotiated by the leaders of the House and Senate budget committees.

The Senate is set to vote on the measure in coming days before Congress heads out for a holiday recess.

Durbin said that in addition to Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, who has said he will support the measure, "We have a handful (of Republicans), but we need more. Some are still thinking about it."

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