Tax Overhaul Clears Procedural Hurdle in House

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Congress has approved a $147 billion package to fund the Energy Department, veterans' programs and the legislative branch. The bill is the first of three spending packages Congress hopes to pass this month to avoid a partial government shutdown when the new budget year begins Oct. 1.

The House vote was 377-20 - and it came a day after the Senate passed it. The bill now goes to President Donald Trump.

The measure represents a compromise between House and Senate negotiators.

The three-bill bundle features a $5.1 billion increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs, including $1.1 billion to pay for a law Trump signed in June to give veterans more freedom to see doctors outside the troubled VA system.

The stopgap funding bill will be attached to a separate bill lawmakers are negotiating to fund the Defense Department and other programs.

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