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$1.66 trillion government spending bill drew overwhelming bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday as lawmakers steered it toward passage before a weekend deadline to avoid a partial shutdown of federal agencies.
Democratic and Republican negotiators agreed early Tuesday morning on the sweeping bill to fund the federal government through the end of its fiscal year on Sept. 30, raising funding from about $1.5 trillion in the last fiscal year.
The Senate voted 70-25 to proceed to debate of the bill, with some Republican senators hoping to offer amendments.
A handful of conservative Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they objected to the bill, but would not try to stop its passage.
“Under no circumstances are we going to go over the shutdown deadline,” said Senator Mike Lee, who joined a news conference with four allies to speak out against the measure. Fellow Republican Senator Mike Braun said the group will intensify its budget reform efforts next year, when Republicans take control of the House of Representatives.
“We are not going to win this war with theatrics,” Braun added.
The bill includes other measures agreed on by negotiators from both parties, including a ban on the use of TikTok on government-owned devices and clarification of Congress’s role in certifying elections, an attempt to avoid a repeat of the violence of Jan. 6, 2021.
Senate and House leaders aim to pass the 4,155-page bill and send it to Democratic President Joe Biden for signing by the end of the week to ensure there are no interruptions to the government’s activities.
