Squeaking by House, Spending Bill Heads to Senate
A huge spending bill now heads to the Senate after the House got a White House assist to prevent a government shutdown, something both Democrats and Republicans want to avoid.
The 1,600-page bill comes in at $1.1 trillion and will keep most agencies funded through next summer. Despite weeks of debate, neither party was totally pleased with the final measure.
"There's not one of you in this room that doesn't understand that this is exactly the way I don't want to do business," House Speaker Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said.
"We all need to stand and fight," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. said.
"If the president were writing this bill himself, this bill would look a lot different," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said
Liberals were angry that the bill loosens campaign finance laws and Wall Street regulations.
Many conservatives opposed the measure because it did not block President Barack Obama's recent executive action on immigration. But others were pleased because it trims the budget at the Environmental Protection Agency and cuts back on federal overreach.
The bill is also full of pet projects, changes to school lunch standards, campaign finance laws and prevents Washington, D.C. from moving forward with a measure to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
