–Senate Set To Follow House, Pass $915B Omnibus Spending Bill
–Senate Leaders Agree To 2 Month Payroll Extend: Battle Resumes In Feb

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The Senate will convene for a rare Saturday
session and is expected to vote on a $915 billion fiscal year
2012 omnibus spending bill and a two-month extension of last year’s
payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance benefits.

Earlier Friday, the House passed the omnibus spending bill on a 296
to 121 vote.

The Senate is expected to approve the same spending 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%.

Senate leaders were unable to reach a broad agreement that would
fund this package for even a year, so they have agreed to extend the
programs for two months.

This package would cost about $30 billion and will be paid for by
higher fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge to mortgage home
lenders.

The Senate compromise will force the payroll tax cut extension
issue to be debated again early next year.

“It’s the best we could get,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is “very optimistic”
that Senate Republicans will vote for the plan.

Many House members departed Washington Friday afternoon and will
return Tuesday to vote on the two month payroll tax cut extension
package.

The key issues thwarting a more substantial payroll extension
package were how to pay for the entire package and the demand of
Republicans to put a provision in the package 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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