The US 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 favour 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.
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