US House, Senate pass budget deal; renewable energy wins

A number of conservative members of the Republican majority opposed the measure because they said it spends too much money. It contains large spending boosts for veterans and medical research.

This bill is a great victory for the principles Democrats stand for.

Paul, who has performed better in the last two GOP debates but is still stuck in the bottom of the polls, noted that he voted against the bill because he usually doesn’t support “these enormous bills that no one has a chance to read”.

Layoffs in state government could soon occur, Corman said, warning that a deadline is also approaching for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program that funds private school scholarships.

Ryan praised several measures in the omnibus spending package, including the end to a 40-year ban on crude oil exports, funding cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, and billions in tax breaks.

The 107-91 vote, supported by 24 Republicans and all 83 members of the Democratic House minority, clears the way for possible consideration of the so-called “framework” budget – or something like it – instead of the stopgap.

Granted, genuine fiscal conservatives should be unhappy. Barack Obama signed the measure, calling it a “Christmas miracle”. He continued, “I voted against it because I won’t vote for these enormous bills that no one has a chance to read”. A good start, she said, would be to put an end to gerrymandering, which some have argued have given Republicans undue control of the state, despite there being almost a million more registered Democrats.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, who argued strongly for the bill, said the next move will be to advance a stopgap budget.

The oil export ban was imposed in 1976 after the Arab Oil Embargo inflicted a price shock on the USA economy. It would restore health benefits for first responders to the September 11 terror attacks who became sick due to their work, and provide health care aid for cash-strapped Puerto Rico.

Not everyone was on board. The data includes IP addresses and routing information that the bill’s backers say could be useful in spotting or blocking computer intrusions.

Senator Ted Cruz said, he was not just “NO”, but Hell No: “Typically in the Senate you have two votes, you can vote either yes or no. On this particular matter, my vote I intend to be hell no”, Senator Cruz told “The John Fredericks Show”. “I would hope we would all think twice before voting for this absolutely unresponsible, irresponsible piece of legislation that adds another $700 billion to the debt”.