Congress Moves Closer To Passing $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill

Up against a midnight deadline, the House seems to be moving closer to passing a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 2015 — and avoid another government shutdown.

In the meantime, Congress is expected to pass a short-term measure to keep the government funded for the next couple of days, while lawmakers work to pass the longer-term bill.

An increasing number of Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, are voicing strong opposition to the spending bill, which includes provisions that would weaken Dodd-Frank financial regulations and dramatically increase the amount of money people can contribute to political parties.

Tea Party Republicans are also opposed to the bill, which does not do anything to block President Obama's recent executive action on immigration.

Here & Now's Robin Young talks to NPR's S.V. Date about what's in the more than 1,600-page bill, and how likely it is to pass.