Auto loans to the Big Three
The U.S. Congress gave final approval to legislation providing the auto industry with $25 billion in loans, lifting an offshore oil-drilling ban and funding the government until the next president takes office.
The legislation, approved by the Senate 78-12, spends $602 billion for the departments of defense, homeland security and veterans affairs. It also funds most of the rest of the government at current levels until March 6. More than $6 billion will be spent on about 2,000 pet projects known as earmarks, according to the Washington-based Taxpayers for Common Sense.