Senate OKs spending resolution

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WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate Wednesday voted 73-26 in favor of a bill to keep the federal government running for another six months.

The measure to head off a government shutdown that would have occurred March 27 is expected to clear the House as well, Politico reported. The House is expected to take up the continuing resolution Thursday, the Washington publication said.

The Senate passed the bill easily after final adjustments were made to make sure food safety inspectors keep getting paid as spending cuts required under sequestration go into effect.

Politico said the Senate went much farther than the House in delineating how money will be spent this year, covering the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Justice, Commerce, Agriculture and Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Science Foundation and NASA.

Politico said more than two-thirds of all discretionary funding for 2013 will now be subject to relatively detailed appropriations.

The Senate made no attempt to overturn the sequestration cuts, however, and it remains to be seen whether those cuts can be sustained through Sept. 30, Politico said.

For example, billions were shifted to the military under the Senate measure, but the Army is still left with 14 percent less than it had budgeted for the next six months, Politico said.