The Senate on Sunday, Dec. 13, passed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending measure that includes $122.1 billion in transportation, housing and development funding for 2010.
Senate Democrats overcame Republican filibusters on Saturday, Dec. 12, when the Senate voted 60-34 to end debate and set up Sunday’s final 57-35 vote, sending the package to President Obama for his signature.
The bill, which includes $447 billion in appropriations for several cabinet departments and $650 billion for Medicare and Medicaid, combines six of the 12 annual spending bills. The House on Thursday, Dec. 10, voted 221-202 for the package.
The bill would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to submit an annual report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the safety and security of transportation into the United States by Mexico-domiciled motor carriers. The bill also includes provisions to allow Maine and Vermont to conduct one-year pilot programs granting heavier trucks greater use of those states’ interstate highways.
