RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - The $1.1 trillion spending bill is now in President Obama's hands after passage over the weekend by the Senate, 50 to 46. The bill funds the federal government through September 2015, the end of the fiscal year. The House approved the spending document 219-206.

But despite the media attention focused squarely on the budget, the Democratically controlled Senate continues to push for its agenda through the end of the lame duck session.

Items Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) hopes to secure before Republicans take control in January:

-- Retroactive increase in federal employee transit benefit

-- Confirmation of nearly two dozen Obama nominees for high-level positions such as head of the Social Security Administration and deputy positions at the State Department.

Details of the budget bill now before the president can be found at http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=146&sid=3760564