COLUMBIA--The House sent a $5.1 billion spending bill to the Senate Tuesday.

Legislators gave the state budget bill final approval on a 69-46 vote. It contains spending cuts of more than 17 percent for most state agencies.

That's because the House decided to make midyear budget cuts permanent and added on top of those more cuts for most agencies.

The House hasn't taken up another bill dealing with Medicaid and health agency restructuring that also is part of the state's spending plans. Debate on that bill, approved Tuesday by the House Ways and Means Committee, is expected within a week.

The final approval of bills rarely are debated, but Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said she couldn't let that happen because she said the House's budget bill raids trust accounts, including more than $5 million from the State Housing Authority.

The House "cannot continue to budget on borrowed money," Cobb-Hunter said.