–Senate Votes 82 To 14 To End Debate On Spending Bill Until March 4
–Senate Majority Leader Wants Final Senate Vote At 2 P.M. ET
–Sen. Reid: Final Senate Votes of Year Could Be Held Wednesday
By John Shaw
WASHINGTON (MNI) – The Senate voted Tuesday to end the debate on a
stop-gap spending bill to keep the government running until March 4.
The Senate voted 82 to 14 to end the debate.
After the Senate vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes the
Senate can pass the stop-gap funding bill at around 2 p.m. ET, so it can
be sent to the House for its consideration and vote.
The House returned to Washington Tuesday to vote for the stop-gap
spending bill and a handful of other items. The House is expected to
approve the stop-gap funding bill easily.
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 1. A series of short-term spending
bills has kept the government funded.
Reid said the Senate could cast its final votes of the year on
Wednesday, with a vote then on a nuclear arms reduction treaty between
the U.S. and Russia.
** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **
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