$1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Clears Senate Hurdle

Friday, December 11, 2009 2:21 PM

WASHINGTON -- A massive year-end spending bill has cleared a key obstacle in the Senate.

By a 60-36 vote, the Senate has defeated a GOP procedural move that would have unraveled the $1.1 trillion measure. The bill bundles six spending bills into a more than 1,000-page behemoth.

The bill would finance 10 Cabinet-level agencies for the coming year and help fund the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs for the elderly and poor.

A vote to stop a Republican filibuster is scheduled for Saturday morning. Friday's vote demonstrates that Democrats will have the 60 votes needed do so.

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