The House passed a $1.1 trillion spending measure that averts a U.S. government shutdown and ends a 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, a plan that ensures fiscal peace in Congress through most of 2016. The measure adopted 316-113 Friday -- as well as a plan reviving dozens of expired tax breaks while making some permanent -- goes to the Senate for a final vote within hours. President Barack Obama plans to sign the measure, which will finance the government through September 2016. “It advances conservative priorities in several areas and enacts significant reform in several areas, on everything from tax relief to ... (full story)