The Senate passed and sent to President Clinton a final compromise bill offering some federal employees buyouts of up to $25,000 if they leave government.
The administration has supported a version similar to the bill that the Senate approved Thursday in a 99-1 vote. The measure cleared the House Wednesday on a voice vote.The bill would help achieve the goal of eliminating 252,000 federal jobs by the end of fiscal 1999. That would cut the full-time federal work force to 1.88 million.
Supporters have said the buyouts would be a more compassionate and cheaper way to make the job cuts than involuntary layoffs. The bill's passage capped months of debate.
In the House on Wednesday, Democratic supporters said time was running out and federal agencies would be forced to lay off workers if the bill was not enacted.
House Democrats rejected a Republican requirement that $22 billion in savings from cuts in the work force be put into a new fund to pay for fighting crime. The Senate had previously endorsed that requirement.
That led to a Republican stall in the Senate on Thursday, which was overcome on a 63-36 vote, clearing the way for final passage.
Under the bill, a federal worker who has completed 12 months of continuous service could take severance pay or a lump sum of $25,000 - whichever is less - upon leaving the government.
The employee-buyout plan gained wide bipartisan support after it became evident that the reduction goals would not be reached through other means such as attrition or involuntary dismissals.