US Senate close to passing €880bn spending bill

The US Senate looks set to pass a $1.1tn (€883bn) spending bill in time for a Saturday night deadline, following a narrow House of Representatives vote that averted a government shutdown.

The House passed the bill late on Thursday despite a revolt by Democrats against controversial financial provisions that led to a day of drama on Capitol Hill and exposed fraying unity between President Barack Obama and his party.

A vote on the measure was delayed for hours after Democrats revolted against provisions to roll back part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and allow more big money political donations, while conservative Republicans objected because the measure did not block funds for Obama’s immigration order.

The 1,603-page bill, negotiated by Republican and Democratic appropriators and leaders, drew Democrats’ ire in the House when they discovered it would roll back a provision of the Dodd-Frank law due to go into effect next year.

That provision would kill planned restrictions on derivatives trading by large banks.

If passed by the Senate, the spending bill would fund all government agencies to September 2015, except for the Department of Homeland Security.