Senate passes spending cuts after Cheney breaks tie

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday
narrowly passed a bill to trim nearly $40 billion from federal
spending over five years, including cuts to social welfare
programs such as health care for the elderly and poor.

Vice President Dick Cheney, in his role as president of the
Senate, broke a 50-50 tie when he voted in favor of the
spending cuts.

The House of Representatives approved the measure on
Monday. But during debate in the Senate, Democrats forced a
minor change to the bill, requiring the House to act again,
probably on Thursday.

Cheney rarely takes the chair of the Senate to help out the
Republican majority, which holds 55 of the 100 seats. The last
time he broke a tie was in May 2003.

Republicans in the U.S. Congress have been trying to craft
a spending-cut bill for a year to show they are serious about
slowing the growth in federal spending that has resulted in
huge budget deficits. But Democrats have pointed out that any
spending cuts would be more than offset by pending Republican
tax cuts.