The House of Representatives today approved a $447 billion bill that boosts funding for a large part of the U.S. government and reflects priorities of Democrats who control Congress and the White House, according to Reuters. The House approved the spending bill by a vote of 221 to 202 and sent it to the Senate, which must pass it by Dec. 18 or extend a temporary measure to keep the government running. The measure would fund dozens of government agencies through the rest of the 2010 fiscal year, which ends next Sept. 30. No Republicans voted for it. They blasted the 2,444-page measure as an irresponsible 14 percent spending increase for domestic programs at a time of record government deficits. The measure would boost spending for the priorities of President Barack Obama"s administration, such as building high-speed rail and beefing up oversight of financial markets. It would boost lending programs for small businesses, which the administration has identified as a way to bring down the nation"s 10 percent unemployment rate. In addition, the many car dealerships cut loose by General Motors Co. and Chrysler would be given a way to try to maintain their affiliations with those auto makers. The bill also advances liberal social policies, reversing restrictions put in place by former President George W. Bush and his Republican allies. Needle-exchange programs for drug addicts -- intended to ensure that diseases such as AIDS are not spread by infected needles shared by injection drug users -- would have an easier time getting federal funding under the measure. Abstinence-only sex-education programs for schoolchildren would get less money. The measure would reverse a ban on the ability of Washington, D.C. to use local funds to pay for abortions. The capital city, unlike the 50 U.S. states, is subject to congressional control. The provision could tie up the bill in the Senate, where Republicans want to strip the language out.
