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By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thank the sinister-sounding Death Master File for helping breathe life into the bipartisan U.S. budget deal reached on Tuesday. Among provisions aimed at reversing the across-the-board "sequestration" government spending cuts and reducing federal deficits, lawmakers restricted access to an index the Social Security Administration keeps of people who have died. Better controls over such information will save an estimated $786 million in government payments to people who steal dead people's Social Security numbers and other information to fraudulently claim tax refunds and credits and Medicare payments, a Senate aide said. The accord, which came days ahead of a self-imposed deadline, was an unexpected break from a cycle of fiscal brinkmanship that caused a government shutdown in October and brought the country close to default and blemished its pristine credit rating in 2011.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan budget deal aimed at avoiding future government shutdowns cleared a key U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday, making way for a vote by the full chamber as early as Thursday. The House Rules Committee, by a 9-3 vote, approved the rules governing debate of the $85 billion, two-year budget deal. The Republican-controlled committee refused to allow Democrats to offer an amendment that would have extended federal jobless benefits that are set to expire at the end of December. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao)