Obama hails budget compromise; Senate likely to pass spending bill

President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a budget compromise that many of his fellow Democrats opposed, saying it is a product of both sides working together.

"This is by definition a compromise bill," Obama told reporters as he met senior aides to discuss the U.S. fight against the Ebola virus. He said it was the type of legislation that is produced from divided government.

Obama said the $1.01 trillion legislation contains funds necessary for the fight against Ebola.

"We've got to stay on this," he said of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. "This is not a fight that is going to go away any time soon."

Senate likely to pass

The U.S. Senate looked set to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill but it might need a few days to overcome procedural hurdles before voting on legislation that averts a government shutdown and ends jitters over major budget standoffs until next fall.

After the House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill late on Thursday following a battle that exposed fraying unity in President Barack Obama's Democratic Party, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid hoped the bill would pass on Friday to spare Americans the drama of yet another budget crisis.

Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell labored to steer the massive spending bill toward passage late Friday but it was unclear whether they could get it done without delay.

Any senator can hold up the vote. For example, Republican Ted Cruz, a fierce opponent of Obama's executive order offering relief from the threat of deportation to millions of undocumented immigrants, told reporters he wanted proceedings to include an up or down vote on funding the order. Cruz said he would use every tool available to bring about such a vote.

However, while there could be some opposition to the spending measure from both the left flank of the Democrats and some Republicans, it appeared it would garner the votes needed to overcome procedural blocks.

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Obama hails budget compromise; Senate likely to pass spending bill

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