Senate OKs $1.7T spending bill — but stopgap funding fix still needed

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday, moving one step closer to avoiding a partial government shutdown — but administrative issues meant that the House will not be able to vote on it before Friday morning, requiring passage of a short-term measure to ensure no funding gaps. The Senate voted 68-29 at around 2:15 p.m. to approve the bill and send the measure to the House. However, senators also passed nine separate amendments that needed to be added to the bill text before it could be transmitted to the lower chamber of Congress.-- More...