HOT AIR BALLOON FLIGHT

The 222-to-212 vote came after days of quiet bipartisan talks to resolve the stalemate culminated in a deal.

Its passage was not guaranteed in the evenly divided Senate, where Republicans have for weeks refused to let Democrats take up any bill to provide a long-term increase. But Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, signaled confidence that enough of his colleagues could accept the solution.