House passes fiscal 2012 appropriations bill

The House passed a  $915 billion appropriations bill Dec. 16, taking a step back from the brink of a government shutdown.

The fiscal 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 3671) passed 296-121.

“After weeks of tough negotiations with our Senate counterparts—and several tenuous days this past week—we were able to complete a bipartisan, bicameral compromise that rolls back federal budgets, makes smart investments in programs people rely on, and implements policy changes that will bolster American business and our economy,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky) said in a statement after the passage of the bill.

The Senate now takes up the bill. Much of the government would shut down at midnight Dec. 16, if not for the funding bill. However, Senate leaders today said that since the spending bill has passed one chamber of Congress today, there would likely not be a shutdown even if the Senate doesn't pass it by midnight.

This legislation contains fiscal 2012 funding for federal agencies.