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Congress gave final approval Friday to one of the most ambitious legislative packages in years — a $1.1-trillion funding bill, up to $680 billion in tax breaks and dozens of other substantial policy initiatives. The measure, which averts another shutdown and keeps the federal government running through September, was sent to President Obama, who signed it into law. (Mascaro, 12/18)

Republican foes of President Barack Obama's health care law may be able to get more by chipping away at it than trying to take the whole thing down at once. That's one lesson of the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by the president last week. (12/21)

Now that the Affordable Care Act has survived two Supreme Court challenges and has suffered only a small financial blow in this week’s spending deal, the president plans to press ahead with expanding health-care coverage. Obama noted that new ACA customers “are up one-third over last year, and the more who sign up, the stronger the system becomes.” (Eilperin, 12/18)