The Senate voted this afternoon to boost its own budget, in spite of cries of protest from a couple Republicans on the chamber floor that the budget increase would be irresponsible and inappropriate in the current economy.
By a vote of 62 to 38, the Senate voted to approve a legislative appropriations bill. The House passed the bill last week by a vote of 217 to 190 with only five Republicans supporting it. President Obama is expected to sign it shortly.
A measure included in the bill will increase Congress's annual budget by 5.8 percent to $4.7 billion. The bill also includes, however, a stopgag resolution Congress needed to pass to keep the government funded through October. With the fiscal year ending today, the federal government would have effectively shut down for a month if the resolution had not passed.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took to the Senate floor to protest the new funding included in the measure, which is detailed in Politico. It includes, among other things, $500,000 for a pilot program for senators to send postcards to inform constituents about their town hall meetings.
"Is there any member of the Senate that needs to send out a postcard to tell our constituents that we're having a town hall meeting? Really?" McCain asked with incredulity. - CBS News Story
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