Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., leaves the House chamber after the final vote on a massive $1.1 trillion spending bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. Miller, a San Francisco Bay area liberal and dean of the California congressional delegation, announced Monday that he will retire when his term ends, closing a 40-year career on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
January 15, 2014 - 9:54 PM
WASHINGTON - The Senate is ready to give final approval to a $1.1 trillion package financing federal agencies this year.
The measure is a bipartisan compromise that all but eliminates the spectre of an election-year government shutdown. After several years of intense standoffs over the budget, many lawmakers want to leave such fights behind them — at least for now.
Senate passage was expected as early as Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Republican-run House passed the legislation in a 359-67 vote that underscored how both parties could claim wins in the measure. Of those voting no, 64 were Republicans — including many of the chamber's most conservative members.
The legislation is a line-by-line follow-up to the budget compromise Congress approved in December that set overall spending limits for the next two years.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014