Democrats stall bill on federal spending

WASHINGTON - Democrats angry with delayed food-labeling rules and other issues blocked the Senate on Tuesday from finishing a long-overdue $373-billion spending bill but predicted Congress would approve the measure by next week.

The vote to halt delaying tactics against the wide-ranging package was 48-45, 12 votes short of the 60 needed. Florida's two Democratic senators, Bob Graham and Bill Nelson, voted no. It was Congress' first roll call of its election-year session and came just hours before President Bush was to deliver his State of the Union address.

Opponents are upset the legislation would delay for two years country-of-origin labels on foods, allow an administration move to reduce the number of white-collar workers eligible for overtime pay and ease limits on the number of television stations a company can own.

Although the vote was a setback for Bush and leaders of the Republican-controlled Senate, it was clearly just a temporary one.

With aides saying Democrats probably lacked the votes to stall the bill much longer, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said the bill would pass in the next few days regardless of whether that issue and others were dealt with.

"Our desire is not to kill the bill. Our desire is to give them a chance to fix it," Daschle said.

The House approved the bill in December. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said the Senate would vote again on the spending bill Thursday.

Daschle said if GOP leaders don't drop offending provisions from the measure, which Republicans said they would not do, Democrats would use other bills to bring attention to the issues.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist promised to push ahead without changes.

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