Mark Wilson, Getty Images, AFP | The Senate side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on March 11, 2014

Brushing aside concerns about deepening the budget deficit, US lawmakers approved $1.8 trillion worth of federal spending and tax breaks on Friday in a rare show of bipartisan cooperation after years of damaging fiscal fights in Congress.

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The US Senate voted 65-33 to approve the sweeping legislation that averted a government shutdown, locked in billions of dollars of tax breaks and scrapped a 40-year-old ban on the export of US oil.

The sprawling measure combines $1.1 trillion in new spending in 2016 and $680 billion in tax cuts over the coming decade.

It now goes to President Barack Obama, and the White House has signalled he will sign the legislation into law.

The deal includes many of the spending increases Obama fought for all year and is largely cleansed of Republican attempts to block his moves the environment, financial regulation, and consumer protection. Republicans won increases for military spending and an end to a ban on exporting US oil, as well as permanent tax cuts for business investment.

The measure received big majorities in both House and Senate. Many in both American parties saw the budget deal as the best they could get under divided government. The need to win Obama's signature helped rid the measure of most of the controversial Republican provisions: killing federal money for women's health care provider Planned Parenthood, limiting the flow of Syrian refugees and undoing dozens of Obama policies on the environment, labour, financial regulation and relations with Cuba.

Increase in defence spending



Architects of the deal and congressional leaders worked overtime this week cajoling rank-and-file members on both sides into backing the $1.149 trillion, catch-all bill which came in at more than 2,000 pages.

Known as an "omnibus," the fiscal year 2016 spending bill includes priorities of both parties, and left out some pet projects that made it difficult for some lawmakers to sign on.

But ultimately, "the House came together to ensure our government is open and working for the American people," House Speaker Paul Ryan said after that chamber's vote.

The bill increases defence spending, which Republicans said was critical given the level of unrest in the Middle East and the increased spectre of terrorism.

"The legislation strengthens our military and protects Americans from terrorist threats, while limiting the overreach of intrusive government bureaucracies like the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency," Ryan said.

The omnibus lifts the 40-year-old ban on US crude oil exports, for years a Republican priority, while extending solar and wind energy tax credits that Democrats say will create renewable energy jobs and reduce carbon emissions.

The bill reforms the US visa waiver programme in the wake of deadly attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, and intensifies US cyber security efforts.

It does not, however, include a controversial measure temporarily halting the programme that allows Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the United States.

Senator Rand Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, opposed the "reckless" spending bill, saying it will do "nothing to stop the flow of refugees from terrorist countries" and just "adds debt on top of debt and enables President Obama's lawlessness."

Tax relief



The omnibus retained the decades-long ban on federal funding for research into gun violence, a major point of contention for Democrats. It also failed to provide assistance for debt-crippled Puerto Rico, which left top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi fuming although she ultimately backed the deal.

And it includes a two-year moratorium on the so-called medical device tax, a provision of Obama's health care law that angered Republicans and Democrats alike.

The Senate also passed a sweeping package extending tax breaks and credits worth $629 billion aimed at providing greater certainty for businesses and millions of Americans.

The House approved the measure Thursday.

The bill includes 56 extensions, among them nearly two dozen that would be made permanent in part to help families still struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

Several Democrats, including party leaders in the House, opposed the bill, warning it is not paid for and will only deepen US debt.

Their opposition puts them at odds with the White House, which on Wednesday announced its support for the tax bill as well as the spending bill.

Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, hailed it as "the biggest anti-poverty plan Congress has moved forward in decades," and said it will provide relief for 50 million Americans.

(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)



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