Democrats had earlier sought to finance the measure by adding to the more than $13 trillion national debt. Pressure from deficit hawks in both parties ultimately forced Democratic leaders to pay for the measure by cutting other programs and raising taxes.
Among the pay-fors chosen by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was a $12 billion cut to food stamps that would cost a family of four $59 a month beginning in early 2014, and a tax increase that limits the ability of some U.S.-based multinational companies to use foreign tax credits to reduce their U.S. taxes.
Most Republicans oppose the measure, calling it a payoff to public employee unions and warning that it would make the states ever-dependent on federal money.
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