US Senate to pass federal budget, ushering in lull in fiscal battle

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The US Senate was poised on Friday to pass its first federal budget in four years, a move that will usher in a relative lull in Washington's fiscal wars until an anticipated summer showdown over raising the debt ceiling.

The Democratic-focused budget plan from the Democratic-controlled Senate will square off against a Republican-focused budget passed on Thursday by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.

Neither is likely to be passed by their opposite chambers and become law, but the plans will give each party a platform in coming months from which to tout vastly different visions for shrinking US deficits and growing the economy.

Passage of a stop-gap government funding measure on Thursday lowered the temperature in the budget debate by eliminating the threat of a government shutdown next week.