–Senate Votes 79 To 16 To Pass Spending Bill Until March 4
–House To Take Up Stop-Gap Spending Bill Later Tuesday
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The Senate voted Tuesday to approve a stop-gap
spending bill to keep the government running until March 4.
The Senate voted 79 to 16 to approve the bill.
The House returned to Washington Tuesday to vote for the stop-gap
spending bill and handful of other items. The House is expected to pass
the stop-gap funding bill later Tuesday.
The current stop-gap spending bill that funds the federal
government expires tonight at midnight.
Several weeks ago, the House passed a year-long stop gap spending
bill that would have funded the government for the rest of fiscal year
2011 at fiscal year 2010 spending levels.
Senate Democrats tried a different approach, combining all 12 of
the regular spending bills into an omnibus package. But Senate
Republicans balked at the measure’s $1.1 trillion cost and it’s length
at nearly 2,000 pages as reasons for blocking the measure.
Republicans also cited the measure’s inclusions of hundreds of
earmarks as a reason to oppose the omnibus spending bill.
Congress has not passed any of the 12 regular spending bills for
the 2011 fiscal year that began Oct I. A series of short-term spending
bills has kept the government funded.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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