the bistro off broadway

Washington Post
Senate approves $1.1 trillion spending bill
Ed O'Keefe and Sean Sullivan

The Senate on Saturday night approved a sweeping $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund most of the federal government through the next fiscal year, turning back a conservative rebellion against President Obama's immigration policy.

On a vote of 56 to 40, senators passed the spending bill and sent it to Obama, who plans to sign it. The bill’s passage eliminates the threat of a government shutdown and capped days of acrimonious debate on Capitol Hill over the omnibus agreement.

A small group of conservatives, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), had sought to slow debate on the bill by raising concerns with Obama’s immigration policy, forcing a marathon weekend session. The move infuriated their colleagues, particularly Republicans who complained that forcing senators to stay in session produced nothing positive for the GOP and only helped Democrats in their bid to approve a final batch of Obama’s nominees for government posts.

For several hours Saturday, senators held procedural votes to begin the process of confirming dozens of Obama’s nominees for federal judgeships and top positions at the State Department and other agencies. They also approved a backstop bill to keep the federal government open through Wednesday night, if needed.

The move forced members of both parties to abruptly cancel holiday and retirement festivities back home. Some senators slogged through the Capitol hallways with young children in tow. Several skipped the Army-Navy football game in Baltimore. Staffers forced to work entertained out-of-town guests by giving them rare weekend access to the Capitol.

Prolonged debate on the spending bill came after Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) late Friday night derailed a carefully crafted plan between party leaders to allow senators to go home for the weekend and return Monday to approve the spending agreement. The pair had sought to force a vote on an amendment that would block federal agencies from implementing the immigration policy changes ordered by Obama last month.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) blocked their request and angrily clashed with them on the Senate floor, ensuring that debate on the spending bill would spill into Saturday...

Read the rest of the article at msn.com


 
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