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 The Senate's 56-40 vote sends the measure to President Barack
Obama, who is expected to sign it into law before federal spending
authority expires at midnight on Wednesday.
Passage of the 1,603-page bill was a long, tough struggle in the
Senate and the House of Representatives marked by bitter disputes
over changes to banking regulations and Obama's recent executive
order on immigration.
Liberal Democrats, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, objected to a
weakening of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, while conservative
Republicans, led by Tea Party firebrand Ted Cruz, tried to sink it
for failing to stop Obama's order.
Cruz's tactics to delay the bill created an opening for Democrats in
a rare Saturday session to push through dozens of Obama's
nominations opposed by Republicans, from judges to energy
regulators. His party colleagues were angered.
"I think most Republicans feel like that Christmas came early for
Democrats," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. "At the end of
the day, they got nominees we previously successfully blocked and we
got nothing."
The legislation funds most government agencies through September
2015. The Department of Homeland Security will be treated
differently, getting a funding extension only through Feb. 27, by
which time Republicans will control both chambers of Congress.
Republicans insisted on the shorter leash for DHS so that they can
try to deny the agency any funds for implementing Obama's recent
order easing deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants.
The Senate vote closed the latest chapter in a four-year-long battle
between Democrats and Republicans over U.S. fiscal policy during an
era of large budget deficits.
These battles are expected to resume next year but with a twist:
Republicans, having won big gains in the Nov. 4 congressional
elections, take control of the Senate from Democrats with a 54-46
majority and will enjoy a larger majority in the House.
Nonetheless, Republicans will still need cooperation from Democrats
in the Senate, where 60 out of 100 votes are needed to advance most
major bills.
TEXAN STRIKES AGAIN
Cruz, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, had delayed the
spending bill over demands for an up-or-down vote denying funds for
Obama's immigration plans.
It was reminiscent of his role as the ringleader of the October 2013
government shutdown that lasted 16 days, when he insisted on gutting
Obama's healthcare law.
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As in 2013, this latest budget fight ended with Cruz failing to
score a victory and Democrats bashing Republicans for again raising
the specter of a government shutdown.
A revolt by Warren and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, a
longtime Obama ally, over a provision to ease Wall Street banking
regulations fed tensions on Capitol Hill all week.
The House vote was delayed for seven hours on Thursday after
Democrats balked at the provision to kill new restrictions on
derivatives trading by large banks, weakening Dodd-Frank, one of
Obama's early legislative achievements passed in response to the
2008 financial crisis, triggered partly by complex mortgage
derivatives.
Banks argue the regulations would have been ineffective and costly.
The provision was partly responsible for 21 "no" votes from Senate
Democrats, which outnumbered 18 Republicans and one independent
opposing it.
The spending bill provides for a slight increase in Pentagon war
funding, which would total $64 billion for this fiscal year. Some of
the money is for combating Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Other high-priority items include nearly $5.5 billion to help
contain the Ebola virus, including Defense Department efforts in
West Africa.
Internal Revenue Service spending would be cut and Republicans also
inserted initiatives ranging from prohibiting funding for the
Environmental Protection Agency to regulate lead content in
ammunition and fishing tackle, to stopping the transfer or release
of Guantanamo detainees into the United States.
(Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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