US Vice President Dick Cheney cast a tie-breaking vote on Wednesday to help the Republican- controlled Senate pass legislation that would cut US budget deficits by 39.7 billion US dollars by the end of the decade.

The Senate was evenly divided 50-50 in the vote, with five Republicans siding with Democrats in opposing the cuts. With Cheney's vote, the bill was narrowly passed by a vote of 51-50.

As vice president, it's one of Cheney's constitutional duties to preside over the Senate and to cast votes to break a 50-50 deadlock on bills.

This was the seventh time that Cheney used his powers as vice president to break a tie vote at the Senate, media reports said. The vice president cut short a trip Tuesday to rush back to Washington to break a possible tie-breaking vote in the Senate.

The deficit-reduction bill was passed by the House early Monday, but the version passed by the Senate require the House to vote on it again before the bill can be sent to the president for signature. The House has already recessed for the Christmas holiday season, and a vote is not expected until the new year.

Source: Xinhua