Despite having avoided a shutdown of the federal government during the previous week, issues surrounding the federal government’s budget continue to be at the front center of the news this week, as the FY12 budget and questions about how the Congress will raise the debt ceiling swirl around the Capitol.

On Thursday the President signed the FY11 budget keeping the government operating through the end of the fiscal year (September 30th). While at the same time the House was debating the budget plan authored by Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, which was passed by the House of Representatives on Friday, by a vote of 253-193. This was a near party-line vote with only four Republicans crossing the aisle to vote against a budget that allotted $1.019 trillion for non-emergency discretionary spending. The budget passed by the House also calls for $6.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade, revamping the tax code, and reforming Medicare and Medicaid, among other things. The plan is $102 billion less than the one proposed by President Obama. The House also beat back four other substitute budget plans, including those by the Democratic Party and the conservative Republican Study Committee.