Congressional leaders in both parties today reached a deal to keep the federal government funded until the end of March at the same levels agreed to in last year's debt deal with no riders restricting U.S. EPA or Energy Department policies.

The agreement announced today by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reflects an apparent acknowledgment by both leaders that a pre-election battle over policy riders and spending cuts could backfire on either party. Democrats scored a key victory by securing a six-month continuing resolution (CR) free of policy riders such as the language in last year's spending bill that blocked DOE standards for energy-efficient light bulbs.

Federal agencies would be funded at a level equivalent to the $1.047 trillion cap set by the August 2011 deal to raise the debt limit, reflecting another victory for Senate Democrats who lambasted the House majority for seeking about $19 billion in cuts below that level in the budget it passed earlier this year.

Reid said in a statement that the deal "provides stability for the coming months, when we will have to resolve critical issues" such as the expiration of 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for individuals and businesses.

The new six-month CR, likely to receive a vote in both chambers after the monthlong August recess, also decouples federal funding from the divisive question of extending a tax credit for renewable energy production that GOP nominee Mitt Romney yesterday vowed to phase out if he wins the presidential election in November (E&E Daily, July 31).

The deal most likely removes the House's rider-laden bill to fund EPA and the Interior Department from floor consideration in September, although Boehner left the door open a crack for circumstances to change in a statement that said, "Members and their staff will write legislation that can be passed by the House and Senate" during the coming recess.