Obama signs $1.1tr spending bill; Congress ends 113th session

US President Barack Obama late Tuesday signed the USD 1.1 trillion spending bill that the Senate approved on Saturday, the White House confirmed, averting a government shutdown and allowing for the government to be funded through September 2015.
Included in the bill is nearly USD 490 billion designated for the Department of Defense, and USD 64 billion for what the Obama Administration calls Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), otherwise known as the Global War on Terrorism.
Senators have held marathon voting sessions over the past few days in a bid to confirm Obama's nominees to government and judicial posts, and extend pieces of legislation before the Republican majority takes over the Senate next month.
The 113th session of Congress - dubbed by analysts as the least productive Congress in US history - was adjourned some 30 minutes before midnight on Tuesday, marking the start of the Christmas break.
Lawmakers will resume business on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2015.