Both chambers of Congress approved a $3.4 trillion federal budget plan for fiscal year 2010 on Wednesday. The nonbinding budget plan passed the House with a vote of 233 to 193 and in the Senate 53 to 43 with no Republican support. The budget paves the way for healthcare reform and President Obama’s other top initiatives related to energy and education provided that they do not contribute to the deficit. The budget protects new healthcare legislation from a filibuster in the Senate with a procedural rule known as reconciliation. "This budget was hugely important to the president, this is the starting point for everything he wants to do,'” said Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, reports Forbes/Reuters.
