WASHINGTON — The Senate easily passed a compromise budget Wednesday, reducing some of the mandatory spending cuts of sequestration by modestly increasing spending levels for the next two years.

The bill, which easily passed the House of Representatives last week before it adjourned for the year, now goes to the desk of President Obama, who has indicated he will sign it into law.

The bill increases government spending to $1.012 trillion for 2014 and $1.014 trillion for 2015, a modest $63 billion total above the levels set by sequestration under 2011’s Budget Control Act. Under sequestration, spending cuts are spread equally between the defense budget and discretionary spending on domestic programs.

The Senate approved the budget by a 64-36 margin. Both of Oregon’s senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, were among the Democrats who supported the budget.

Senate Republicans could have blocked the budget deal on Tuesday, when a vote to end debate on the bill needed 60 votes to pass but cleared that hurdle 67-33, with a dozen GOP senators supporting the advance of the bill.

In a prepared statement, Merkley said he supported the budget even though it is not one he would have written himself.

“We must stop governing from crisis to crisis, and we must mitigate the sequester’s damaging impacts on programs that are critical for working families. This budget will put us on the path towards doing that,” he said.

The budget deal provides “some relief from the draconian sequestration cuts” that have affected the early education Head Start program, meals-on-wheels deliveries and research and development, he said.

Merkley did express some frustration over how the budget deal generated $63 billion in revenue without raising taxes.

“I am deeply disturbed that the deal changes the cost of living adjustments for retiring military personnel, yet fails to eliminate a single tax loophole for powerful special interests. It is also shameful that this deal does not extend unemployment benefits for our millions of jobless Americans looking for work. I hope that we address this issue as soon as possible, preferably before we leave for the year. We cannot leave millions of families out in the cold.”

Wyden said the budget falls short of getting the country’s fiscal house in order, but represents an important first step toward more responsible governing.

“In the meantime, significant work still needs to be done to help the millions of Americans struggling to find work,” he said in a prepared statement. “Long-term unemployment benefits and food stamps are lifelines Americans simply can’t afford to lose as the economy is only starting to recover.”

Even before the budget received a passage vote, some senators were already outlining changes they hope to see made in the near future.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of the Senate Budget Committee who acted as the Democrats’ lead negotiator, said Wednesday she intends to fix a technical error that applies the 1 percent cost of living decrease to retired veterans under 62 — a move that saves $6 billion — to disabled veterans as well. Because the House has already finished its business for the year, there is no way to make a technical fix to the bill before 2014. The benefit cut would not take place until 2016.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., introduced legislation Tuesday that would roll back the change to veterans’ benefits completely, not just for disabled veterans. To replace the revenues, the measure would reduce tax benefits for companies incorporated offshore but run from within the United States. As of Wednesday, Shaheen’s bill had attracted 16 Democrat co-sponsors, including Merkley.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman told reporters the committee would take up the issue in January.

Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Bob Casey, D-Pa., also called for a three-month extension of emergency unemployment benefits, which were not a part of the budget deal. Without congressional action, federal benefits for the long-term unemployed are set to expire Dec. 28, affecting up to 21,000 Oregonians and 1.3 million unemployed people nationwide.

— Reporter: 202-662-7456, aclevenger@bendbulletin.com