The House this afternoon cleared a sweeping spending bill that would fund the Transportation, Agriculture and Commerce departments for fiscal 2012.

The "minibus" pulls together the three spending bills for the rest of fiscal 2012 and includes a provision to keep all branches of government funded through Dec. 16. The measure reflects the $1.043 trillion spending cap that both parties agreed to as part of August's debt deal and would squeeze funding for agriculture conservation programs, marine research and high-speed rail.

The House voted 298-121 in favor of the appropriations conference report. Thirty Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the measure. Nine Republicans did not vote. The measure is expected to easily clear the Senate this evening.

Despite the easy passage that is expected for the minibus, the outlook for the remainder of the 2012 spending measures remains murky. Earlier this week, Senate leaders failed in their attempt to merge another trio of appropriations bills and instead began debate on a single energy and water measure, then delayed consideration of that bill to December.

Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia, the House's top Democratic appropriator for U.S. EPA and the Interior Department, today warned that the federal agencies not covered by today's minibus could fall under a continuing resolution (CR) until next October, a prospect that many senior lawmakers in both parties would prefer to avoid. "The Senate invariably disappoints us," Moran said.

The ongoing "drama" over policy riders that would restrict hot-button EPA rules, as Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) put it today, is among the primary causes of that broader uncertainty over appropriations. Although riders have previously passed on appropriations bills under both Democratic- and GOP-controlled Congresses, Kingston noted, "one of the problems we have right now is that everything's a litmus test."

But the minibus will at least provide the Transportation, Agriculture and Commerce departments with set funding levels for 2012. Many programs in those agencies would see cuts, and most would lag below the White House request.

Under the bill, programs and agencies in the Agriculture Department would receive $136.6 billion in discretionary and mandatory spending, $4.6 billion below what President Obama requested.

In all, conservation and energy funding would lose about $1.25 billion compared to their levels set out in the farm bill. The minibus does not spare programs that are popular with farmers, including the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Rural Energy for America Program. The cap on USDA's only program that gives support to farmers for planting biofuels feedstocks would drop from $112 million to $17 million.

The minibus would bar farmers who make a gross adjusted income of more than $1 million from receiving direct payments. It also provides $205 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is working to set limits on excessive speculation in oil markets under last year's financial reform package. The commission had asked for $308 million to carry out the mandates of that act.

The agreement allots $4.9 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- a compromise between the Senate and House numbers but still more than half-a-billion dollars below the White House request.

NOAA fared better than some other agencies that saw steeper cuts -- its bottom line would go up 7 percent, compared to fiscal 2011. But the majority of the new funding for the agency would go toward new climate and weather satellites. The "wet" side of NOAA -- its programs overseeing ocean research and fisheries -- would take a hit.

The transportation language zeroes out all funding for high-speed rail, and Amtrak would see its appropriation slip to $1.4 billion, down from $1.5 billion in fiscal 2011.

The Transportation Department's TIGER program, which would have been cut under the House bill, was restored with $500 million in funds. However, supporters say that will not cover the demand for the livability program -- DOT announced yesterday that a recent round of grant requests totaled $14.1 billion.

Reporters Elana Schor and Amanda Peterka contributed.