–House Passes FY’12 Omnibus Spending Bill; Senate Vote Expected Sat
–House, Senate Still Negotiating On Payroll Tax Cut Extension
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – In a key step to end the weeks-long impasse in
Congress, the House voted Friday to approve a $915 billion fiscal year
2012 omnibus spending bill.
The omnibus spending bill was approved in the House on a 296 to 121
vote.
The Senate is expected to approve the same bill Saturday.
The current stop-gap spending bill expires at midnight Friday, but
the White House has said the federal government will not shut down
because Senate passage of the omnibus spending bill is imminent.
The omnibus spending bill funds the nine fiscal year 2012 bills
that have not yet been approved. These bills are the defense, energy and
water, financial services, homeland security, interior-environment,
labor-health human services-education, legislative branch, military
construction-veterans affairs, and state-foreign operations spending
bills.
The other remaining issue for Congress is approving a package to
extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits and to prevent
Medicare payments to doctors from being cut by 27%.
The House is expected to leave Washington this afternoon and return
early next week to take up a new payroll tax cut extension package,
which the Senate leaders are still negotiating.
The key remaining issues on the payroll extension package are how
to pay for the $200 billion package and the demand of Republicans to
include a provision that expedites the construction of the Keystone XL
pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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