Obama signs $1.1tr omnibus spending bill

President Obama Wednesday signed into law a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government for the rest of fiscal 2014. The bill, passed earlier Wednesday by the Senate and House, lets Congress avoid the risk of a government shutdown through the end of September. The Hill newspaper said House members voted 359-67 for the bill, though 64 Republicans and three Democrats voted against it. The report said some Republicans opposed the bill, resisting the restoration of some sequester cuts that were part of the budget deal late last year. The bill allows discretionary spending to increase by $45 billion, as opposed to the sequester, which imposed across-the-board spending cuts, the Hill reported. Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted 86-14 to approve a stopgap measure. More than 25 Republicans joined Senate Democrats in voting for the short-term funding bill, suggesting there would be enough votes for passage of the omnibus measure. Lawmakers didn't pass a 2014 budget bill by Sept. 30, the end of the government's last fiscal year, prompting a 16-day government shutdown that ended with a continuing resolution that provided bridge funding to government agencies through Wednesday. The trillion-dollar omnibus bill is actually 12 bills in one, totaling 1,582 pages. The measure provides $1.012 trillion in discretionary spending for defense and domestic programs -- up from $986 billion last fiscal year. It also includes $92 billion for emergency overseas funding for foreign refugee assistance, the war in Afghanistan and other operations, the Wall Street Journal said. The measure provides for a 1 percent pay raise for federal workers and additional funding for the federal Headstart preschool program, and reverses some cuts to military veterans' pensions that were included in a broader budget agreement last month. Republicans failed to include a provision to strip funding for implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The healthcare reform law, commonly known as Obamacare, will be funded sparingly -- keeping money for the agency implementing the law at 2013 levels and cutting $1 billion from a public-health fund Republicans said they feared the White House would use to bolster the law's online insurance exchanges. No money is budgeted for some administration priorities conservatives opposed, such as construction of high-speed rail and a preschool development grants program. Funding was blocked for new regulations supported by liberals, including a standard for energy-efficient light bulbs and livestock and poultry controls.