The Senate voted 81-18 on Wednesday to accept a short-term budget bill, and to reopen the government. It denied itself cost of living increases in 2014.
The House passed the Senate’s bill after 10 p.m., 285-144. Of the yea votes, 87 were Republican.
Little in the bill reflected House Republican’s original efforts to block or defend the Affordable Care Act. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor, “Republicans remain determined to repeal this terrible law… This is far less than many of us had hoped for. But it’s far better than what some had sought.”
On the new health law, the bill included a requirement that the government should verify the incomes of people who applied for government subsidies for their health insurance.
President Obama gave a news briefing in which he said, “I thank the leaders of both parties for getting us to this point,” and said he would sign the bill into law immediately when it reached his desk.
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