CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

House Approves $1T Spending Bill

Softens Wall Street reforms, too.

A bill designed to avert a government shutdown—as well as soften a 2009 financial-reform bill and make it harder to legalize marijuana in Washington, D.C.—passed by a narrow margin in the House on Thursday, just hours before a midnight deadline. The House reached the 219-206 vote after pleas from President Obama and Vice President Biden for congressional Democrats to support the $1.1 trillion spending measure. The daylong drama began after an initial scheduled vote was postponed for several hours of scrambling to find enough votes to pass the bill, which will keep the government running through September. Both houses approved a two-day extension of current funding to allow the Senate time to approve the bill.