This was the Senate vote on the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, also known as the omnibus spending bill. The bill would fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2016 (through September 30, 2016). The government had been funded through stop-gap measures over the last several months, with the latest expiring on December 22, 2015

The House passed the two parts separately but sent them to the Senate as a combined package. A vote in favor was to approve the package and send it to the President for a signature. A vote against was to leave federal government at risk of shutting down on December 23, unless another stop-gap measure or spending deal could be enacted.

See the summary for H.R. 2029 for details.