Conferees approve first part of year-end spending package

House and Senate negotiators Tuesday night signed off on a nearly $450 billion spending package composed of six fiscal 2010 appropriations bills, including the final version of the $67.9 billion Transportation-HUD bill, which will be the legislative vehicle.

The House could take up the package as soon as this week, according to a senior Democratic aide.

Democrats are also working on a second spending package, which will include the fiscal 2010 Defense Appropriations bill and possibly jobs-creation legislation. Action on the second measure could come before the current continuing resolution expires Dec. 18.

Along with the Transportation-HUD bill, the first measure included the $64.4 Commerce-Justice-Science bill, the $24.2 billion Financial Services bill, the $163.6 billion Labor-HHS bill, the $78 billion Military Construction-VA bill, and the $48.7 billion State-Foreign Operations bill.

The omnibus spending package was needed in order to complete work on the remaining appropriations bills. To date, only five of the 12 annual spending bills have been signed into law by President Obama.

Republicans lambasted the bill because of the increase in spending over last year and because the remaining appropriations bills were packaged together.

"In this $450 billion package... spending domestic on programs is increased by an astonishing 14 percent while military construction and veterans funding is held to 5 percent," House Appropriations ranking member Jerry Lewis said.

"This is the third straight year that Congress has had to rely on a patchwork of continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills to keep our government running. This represents a record of failure and a lack of leadership at the highest levels of this Congress," Lewis said.

Approval of the bill came after House Democrats defeated seven Republican amendments by 9-5 party-line votes.

One Republican amendment defeated by House Democrats would have prevented Treasury from extending the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, which the law currently allows them to do.

The amendment would have also prevented using funds repaid to TARP as well as reduce the program's $700 billion authority by $200 billion. Treasury this week estimated TARP would cost $200 billion less than previously anticipated, primarily due to the improving economy.

The package also establishes a process of binding arbitration for auto dealers facing closure under restructurings of Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp.

The process would determine whether dealership agreements terminated by the automakers receiving federal aid should be reinstated. The provision would offer a lifeline to about 790 Chrysler dealers closed in June and more than 1,350 GM dealers expected to be shut down.