The House of Representatives passed a bill this week to keep funding the government through September, averting a possible shutdown at the end of this month. But Democrats in the House and Senate are criticizing the measure, for keeping the deep budget cuts triggered last week, and for protecting the military’s budget at the expense of social programs. As President Obama holds more meetings with Republican lawmakers about a more sweeping budget plan, progressive economists and lawmakers are mobilizing to defend programs that support the most vulnerable people in the country.

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