AFP
Washington

United States lawmakers have approved a compromise $1.1tn spending package that funds the government through September next year, while also tightening the nation’s visa waiver requirements, ending a longstanding oil export ban and reforming the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The sprawling measure, which also extends several tax exemptions worth more than $600bn and that critics warn will increase the national debt, easily passed the Senate 65 votes to 33 shortly after clearing the House earlier as the last major acts of Congress before year-end holidays.
It now goes to President Barack Obama, and the White House has signalled he will sign the legislation into law.
Architects of the deal and congressional leaders worked overtime this week cajoling rank-and-file members on both sides into backing the $1.149tn, catch-all bill which came in at more than 2,000 pages.
Known as an “omnibus”, the fiscal year 2016 spending bill includes priorities of both parties, and left out some pet projects that made it difficult for some lawmakers to sign on.
But ultimately, “the House came together to ensure our government is open and working for the American people”, House Speaker Paul Ryan said after that chamber’s vote.
The bill increases defence spending, which Republicans said was critical given the level of unrest in the Middle East and the increased spectre of terrorism.
“The legislation strengthens our military and protects Americans from terrorist threats, while limiting the overreach of intrusive government bureaucracies like the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency,” Ryan said.
The omnibus lifts the 40-year-old ban on US crude oil exports, for years a Republican priority, while extending solar and wind energy tax credits that Democrats say will create more renewable energy jobs and reduce carbon emissions.
The bill reforms the US visa waiver programme in the wake of deadly attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, and intensifies US cyber-security efforts.
It does not, however, include a controversial measure temporarily halting the programme that allows Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the United States.
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, opposed the “reckless” spending bill, saying that it will do “nothing to stop the flow of refugees from terrorist countries” and just “adds debt on top of debt and enables President Obama’s lawlessness”.
The omnibus retained the decades-long ban on federal funding for research into gun violence, a major point of contention for Democrats.
It also failed to provide assistance for debt-crippled Puerto Rico, which left top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi fuming although she ultimately backed the deal.
And it includes a two-year moratorium on the so-called medical device tax, a provision of Obama’s healthcare law that angered Republicans and Democrats alike.
The Senate also passed a sweeping package extending tax breaks and credits worth $629bn aimed at providing greater certainty for businesses and millions of Americans.
The House approved the measure on Thursday.
The bill includes 56 extensions, among them nearly two dozen that would be made permanent in part to help families still struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
Several Democrats, including party leaders in the House, opposed the bill, warning it is not paid for and will only deepen US debt.
Their opposition puts them at odds with the White House, which on Wednesday announced its support for the tax bill as well as the spending bill.
Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, hailed it as “the biggest anti-poverty plan Congress has moved forward in decades” and said it will provide relief for 50mn Americans.