Congress also left town without being able to agree on an $81 billion hurricane and wildfire relief package, so working out differences on that will be high on the agenda in the new year.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said Thursday that he thought the disagreements could have been resolved "had my Republican colleagues, especially in the House, not put them on the back burner while jamming through their tax bill."
Bipartisan Standoff
Both parties are expected to return to the negotiating table in early January to try to hammer out a budget cap agreement, raising limits on domestic and defense spending imposed under the 2011 Budget Control Act.
They are far apart.
"We find ourselves no closer to an agreement than we were 11 months ago," Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking House Democrat, said Thursday.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that Republicans have sought to increase defense spending by $54 billion and non-defense spending by $37 billion. Democrats find that unacceptable because they want equal increases.
Demonstrated Needs
Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican and a member of the Appropriations Committee, said that the Democratic formula of "parity" increases made more sense in the days of divided government and less so now that Republicans control Congress and the White House. He argued that increases should be based on demonstrated needs.
In addition to agreeing on spending levels, both sides must resolve whether and how any of the budget cap increases will be paid for. In the past, Congress has tapped federal pensions, crop insurance and Medicare provider payments.