"Is it perfect? No," the Speaker said before the vote. "I'd be the first one to admit that it's flawed."

The House approved a rule shortly after 1 p.m. allowing consideration of H.Con.Res. 34, the Republicans' FY 2012 budget resolution. The rule calls for four hours of debate and allows up to 30 minutes of debate on six substitute measures. Much of this debate and voting will occur late Thursday and Friday.

The rule was approved in a 243-181 vote. Five Democrats voted in favor of the rule, and no Republicans voted against it.

With adoption of the rule, the House turned to H.R. 1473, the FY 2011 spending agreement that was reached by Congress and the White House last Friday. The House will debate and vote on that bill and two related healthcare measures, then send the package to the Senate later in the day.

House Republicans launched Thursday's debate on the FY 2012 budget resolution by noting that the spending plan outlined by President Obama on Wednesday does not exist on paper, and thus will not be taken up as a viable alternative to the Republican plan.

"We keep hearing … about the president's wonderful mulligan budget that he offered yesterday, but I don't believe it's going to be offered on the floor of the House," Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said early in the debate, referring to Obama's second cut at a budget proposal.

"He's not offering a budget," Kingston added. "What he did was give a speech. Now the president is kind of becoming the spectator in chief, or the speaker in chief."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday tore into President Obama's Wednesday speech on deficit reduction, saying the public doesn’t want advice from him on fiscal prudence.

"The American people are not inclined to take advice on fiscal responsibility from an administration whose unprecedented borrowing and spending has done so much to create the mess we are in," said McConnell.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) confirmed Thursday that every senator has agreed to allow the Senate to proceed to a vote on last week’s spending deal as soon as it clears the House.

The unanimous consent agreement was reached even though some senators plan to vote against the legislation, which would cut $39.9 billion from this year’s spending.

“I am very appreciative that we were able to get the consent agreement to move forward for after we get the papers from House,” an appreciative Reid said from the Senate floor.  

The Republican is reacting to video footage of a six-year-old girl being searched by a TSA official.

The House returns Thursday morning with the heavy task of passing a budget for fiscal 2011, and beginning consideration of the 2012 budget resolution.

On the current year budget, the House passed the rule for this bill on Wednesday, and will debate the bill, H.R. 1473, for one hour before voting.

The House will also debate and vote on two resolutions: one that would amend the spending bill to defund the healthcare law, and another that would amend the bill to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Members of the House Republican Study Committee (RSC) this week will press for steeper cuts than those found in House Budget Committee Paul Ryan's FY 2012 budget resolution, and have put forward one of several substitute amendments that will be considered Thursday or Friday. The RSC substitute amendment may once again test the ability of Republican leaders to maintain support for Ryan's proposal, and fend off a more conservative option.

A substitute amendment from RSC member Scott Garrett (R-NJ) was made in order by the House Rules Committee on Wednesday night, and thus will be allowed to compete with Ryan's proposal and four others.

The Senate will vote Thursday on the spending deal the White House reached with House Republicans last week that averted a government shutdown.

The Senate will also vote on two resolutions, one to ban federal funds for Planned Parenthood, another to defund the new healthcare law.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) agreed to the votes on the two resolutions, which would need 60 votes to proceed, as part of a deal engineered by Reid, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama.