After first having failed to pass the House, passing overwhelmingly the Senate, and the going back to the House, the bailout bill did pass Congress today and was signed by President Bush. Dozens of House members changed their votes after “sweeteners” were added.

The House also voted to extend unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, the Senate voted by large margin to approve the US-India nuclear deal, which the House had already approved. Both chambers also passed a bill inteded to save Internet radio from a crippling hike in copyright royalty rates.

There was much in the way of GOP obstruction this week. Senate Republicans blocked a windfall profits tax on Big Oil that be used to fund alternative energy sources. Republican senators also blocked legislation that would trim payments to private health insurers serving people in Medicare and use the savings to raise reimbursement rates for doctors.

The House approved an extra three months of jobless benefits for all unemployed Americans. After failing to get a veto-proof two-thirds margin by three votes on Wednesday, Democrats got an exact two-thirds margin on Thursday with a 274-137 vote — the amount needed to overcome a threatened presidential veto. But chances are slim that the same can be achieved in the Senate. The House also passed Amtrack funding with a veto-proof margin, as has the Senate.

In the House, Speaker Pelosi split the next war supplemental into separate votes; funding for the war actually failed 141-149 and a new Dec. 31st, 2009 troop withdrawal deadline passed. the House also backed a 13-week extension in unemployment benefits, as well as a $52-billion expansion of veteran education benefits, paid for by a “patriot tax” on wealthy individuals. However, the Senate is expected to reject the withdrawal deadline and veteran-benefits tax, and restore the war funding… Also this week, the House voted for the long-awaited farm bill by a veto-proof margin (as did the Senate, though Bush will still veto in a symbolic move in all likelihood). Lastly, the House backed legislation directing Bush to temporarily stop filling the emergency oil reserve.

In the Senate, there was a near-unanimous vote to scrap FCC-proposed rules that permit one company to own both a newspaper and television station in the same market. By an overwhelming 97-1 margin, the Senate also backed legislation to temporarily halt the filling of the national oil reserve. Bush opposes the bill, but probably will sign it.