Dec 14 2009
After the Senate approved a House-passed spending package worth almost $450 billion on Sunday, the legislation, which "includes annual foreign aid packages," will go to President Barack Obama, Agence France-Presse reports. Obama is expected to sign the legislation (12/13).
"The measure passed 57 to 35, largely along party lines, although three Democrats - Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.), Russ Feingold (Wis.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) - voted with Republicans against the bill," according to Roll Call (Brady 12/13).
The Washington Post's "Capitol Briefing" blog writes: "The measure also carries thousands of earmarks and double-digit spending increases for many programs, prompting Republicans to attack Democrats' priorities. 'If you really want to reduce wasteful spending, vote against this bill,' Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said just before the vote Sunday, complaining that the package had been thrown together with precious little scrutiny or transparency. But Democrats said Republicans were largely to blame for slowing the appropriations process, and they praised the omnibus for injecting much-needed funding for key programs into a struggling economy" (Pershing, 12/13).
 This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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