WASHINGTON -- The Democratic-controlled Senate confirmed the last batch of President Barack Obama's judicial appointees and sent the White House legislation temporarily extending tax breaks for millions of people late Tuesday as lawmakers neared the end of the two-year Congress.
An eleventh-hour attempt to renew a program obliging the government to cover part of the cost of terrorism-caused losses was sidetracked by retiring Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who said it was a giveaway to private industry.
But dozens of Obama's nominees to agency positions won approval on what shaped up as the final night of the Congress. Among them was Nicholas Rasmussen as director of the National Counterterrorism Center at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Obama's remaining 12 judicial nominees also cleared the Senate before a final adjournment late Tuesday night.
Before Tuesday, the Senate had approved 76 federal court of appeals and district court judges this year. The confirmation of the 12 more raised the total to 88 -- the most since a Democratic-led Senate approved 99 of President Bill Clinton's appeals and district court nominees in 1994, said Russell Wheeler, who studies the judiciary at the Brookings Institution.
Meanwhile, banks, retailers, commuters and teachers will keep their temporary tax breaks for another year after Congress gave final approval Tuesday to a tax package affecting millions of businesses and individuals.
The Senate voted 76-16 to approve the package Tuesday evening as lawmakers rushed to finish their work before heading home for the holidays. Both senators from Arkansas -- Democrat Mark Pryor and Republican John Boozman -- voted in favor of the measure.
The House passed the bill earlier this month. Obama was expected to sign it.
The last-minute bill extends the expired tax breaks through the end of this year, enabling taxpayers to claim them on their 2014 tax returns. Beyond this year, their fate is uncertain.
It would add nearly $42 billion to the budget deficit over the next decade, according to congressional estimates.
The 54 tax breaks benefit big corporations and small businesses, as well as struggling homeowners and people who live in states without a state income tax. More narrow provisions include tax breaks for filmmakers, racehorse owners and rum producers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Congress routinely extends the package of tax breaks every year or two, but it was allowed to expire in January. Technically, the bill is a one-year, retroactive extension of the tax breaks, even though it lasts only through the end of the month.
Lawmakers from both political parties said they were disappointed they couldn't extend the tax breaks beyond that.
"This package of incentives, which applies only to 2014, will last two more weeks before families and businesses will be thrown back into the dark about what taxes they owe," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "This tax bill doesn't have the shelf life of a carton of eggs."
Also Tuesday, Congress gave the final approval to the the most sweeping legislation to help the disabled in a quarter-century, allowing Americans with disabilities to open tax-free bank accounts to pay for needs such as education, housing and health care.
The move paves the way for creation of the accounts beginning next year for as many as 54 million disabled people and their families.
Modeled after tax-free college savings accounts, the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act would amend the federal tax code to allow states to establish the program. It passed after being attached to the tax measure Tuesday night and was also headed to Obama for his signature.
There was no immediate comment from the White House on the final votes of this Congress, but Obama signed into law another major year-end measure Tuesday night: a $1.1 trillion spending bill to keep most of the government in operation through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year.
The spending bill, negotiated mainly by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House and Senate Republican leaders, was the result of an effort by House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to avoid a government shutdown like the partial one in October 2013.
Information for this article was contributed by David Espo, Erica Werner, Stephen Ohlemacher, Hope Yen and Jim Kuhnhenn of The Associated Press.
A Section on 12/17/2014