Senate passes $410 billion spending bill.......

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A spending bill that funds the U.S. government for the rest of the budget year passed the Senate on Tuesday despite complaints about nearly $8 billion in what critics called "pork-barrel" projects. Senators voted 62-35 to cut off debate on the $410 billion measure and passed it on a voice vote immediately afterward. The omnibus spending bill includes more than 8,000 congressional "earmarks," which total almost $8 billion. The earmarks have caused critics to question President Obama's pledge to end wasteful spending, but Obama administration officials said the bill is a holdover from the previous Congress. "It is in America's best interest to close the book on the last administration and let the new one hit the ground running," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee....Link