ECONOMY
Spending bill heads to Obama
Senate approves $1.1 trillion package
Garden of Healing®
WASHINGTON
On Sunday the Senate passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill with increased budgets for the federal government, including health, education, law enforcement and veterans' programs.
The 1,000-plus-page package, one of the last jobs of Congress in 2009, passed 57-35 and now goes to President Barack Obama.
After the vote, the Senate immediately returned to the debate on health care legislation that has consumed its energy for weeks. Senate Democrats hope to reach a consensus in the coming days on Obama's chief domestic priority.
But even as they sent the measure to Obama for his signature, Democrats were deeply divided over efforts to substantially raise the federal debt limit.
The idea of increased spending and more red ink provoked new congressional alarm, and some Democratic deficit hawks were insisting that Congress and the White House agree to new efforts to rein in the deficit.
Failure to increase the $12.1 trillion debt limit to cover federal borrowing could lead to a technical government default.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and others said they wanted a vote on a new proposal to create a bipartisan independent commission to recommend spending cuts and revenue increases to pare the deficit. Others want an agreement by Congress to follow "pay as you go" rules when considering legislation.
If they are unable to strike a deal with the White House and the congressional leadership, the lawmakers said they would support only a short-term increase in the debt limit — perhaps into February — to allow for more negotiations.
The spending bill combines six of the 12 annual appropriation bills for the 2010 budget year that began Oct. 1. Obama has already signed five others into law.
The final one, a $626 billion defense bill, will be used as the base bill for another catchall package of measures that Congress must deal with in the coming days.
Those include raising the debt ceiling and considering proposals to stimulate the job market.
The spending bill passed Sunday includes $447 billion for departments' operating budgets and about $650 billion in mandatory payments for federal benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Those programs would see increases of about 10 percent.
All but three Democrats voted for the bill; all but three Republicans opposed it.
Democrats said the spending was critical to meet the needs of a recession-battered economy.
Appearing Sunday on "State of the Union" on CNN, Lawrence Summers, the president's chief economic adviser, said Obama was receptive to new ideas for reducing the deficit.
"What's fundamentally important is that we find a solution that works," he said.
© 2009 The Garden of Healing® Company. The Star Raconteur™. All Rights Reserved.
Spending bill heads to Obama
Senate approves $1.1 trillion package
Garden of Healing®
WASHINGTON
On Sunday the Senate passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill with increased budgets for the federal government, including health, education, law enforcement and veterans' programs.
The 1,000-plus-page package, one of the last jobs of Congress in 2009, passed 57-35 and now goes to President Barack Obama.
After the vote, the Senate immediately returned to the debate on health care legislation that has consumed its energy for weeks. Senate Democrats hope to reach a consensus in the coming days on Obama's chief domestic priority.
But even as they sent the measure to Obama for his signature, Democrats were deeply divided over efforts to substantially raise the federal debt limit.
The idea of increased spending and more red ink provoked new congressional alarm, and some Democratic deficit hawks were insisting that Congress and the White House agree to new efforts to rein in the deficit.
Failure to increase the $12.1 trillion debt limit to cover federal borrowing could lead to a technical government default.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and others said they wanted a vote on a new proposal to create a bipartisan independent commission to recommend spending cuts and revenue increases to pare the deficit. Others want an agreement by Congress to follow "pay as you go" rules when considering legislation.
If they are unable to strike a deal with the White House and the congressional leadership, the lawmakers said they would support only a short-term increase in the debt limit — perhaps into February — to allow for more negotiations.
The spending bill combines six of the 12 annual appropriation bills for the 2010 budget year that began Oct. 1. Obama has already signed five others into law.
The final one, a $626 billion defense bill, will be used as the base bill for another catchall package of measures that Congress must deal with in the coming days.
Those include raising the debt ceiling and considering proposals to stimulate the job market.
The spending bill passed Sunday includes $447 billion for departments' operating budgets and about $650 billion in mandatory payments for federal benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Those programs would see increases of about 10 percent.
All but three Democrats voted for the bill; all but three Republicans opposed it.
Democrats said the spending was critical to meet the needs of a recession-battered economy.
Appearing Sunday on "State of the Union" on CNN, Lawrence Summers, the president's chief economic adviser, said Obama was receptive to new ideas for reducing the deficit.
"What's fundamentally important is that we find a solution that works," he said.
© 2009 The Garden of Healing® Company. The Star Raconteur™. All Rights Reserved.
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