A round-robin series of crucial last-minute decisions by senators anxious to wrap up their work before Christmas resulted in a decisive 68–29 vote to approve the controversial $1.85 trillion omnibus spending bill to keep the federal government open well into the New Year.
The vote represented a big win for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and the appropriations panel’s top Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala).
The bipartisan group began meeting behind closed doors weeks ago seeking to assemble the massive spending measure that ultimately included more than 5,000 pages when all of the supporting documents are included. The bill was made necessary by the fact the Senate failed to act earlier in the year on the 12 major appropriation bills that together constitute the federal budget. The House of Representatives approved its version of the bill earlier this month….