U.S. House returns budget to 2008 levels

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday passed a measure returning the budget to 2008 levels.

The House voted 256-165 along party lines to instruct House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to set this year's budget at or below 2008 spending levels, The Hill reported.

The Congressional Budget Office will release spending data on the current fiscal year Wednesday, at which point Ryan will decide how much additional spending will be authorized.

The House Appropriations Committee will then use Ryan's figures to draft a continuing resolution, which Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., hopes to vote on by the week of Feb. 14.