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The Democratic-led Senate has rejected conditions that House Republicans attached to a temporary spending bill needed to avert a federal government shutdown.
Hours before a midnight deadline, the Senate voted 54-46 today to strip a one-year delay in President Barack Obama's health care law from the bill that would keep the government operating. The Senate also stripped a provision that would have eliminated the tax on medical devices.
House Republicans had added the provisions last morning in their campaign to undo Obama's signature domestic programme.
The vote came less than 10 hours before a possible shutdown and with no compromise in sight. Democrats, and a few Republicans, are pressing for the House to approve a straightforward spending bill with no conditions.
