WASHINGTON The US Senate confirmed President Barack Obama's nominees to be the next American ambassadors to India and Afghanistan on Tuesday, filling two of the country's most important diplomatic posts days before leaving Washington for the year.

By unanimous voice votes, the Senate approved former State Department official Richard Rahul Verma as US ambassador to India and Peter Michael McKinley to be the ambassador in Kabul.

Verma, who is Indian-American, will replace Nancy Powell, who resigned in March after a damaging dispute over the treatment of a junior Indian diplomat in the United States.

He served as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs at the State Department in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011.

The United States sees India as a natural ally on a range of issues and a potential counterbalance to an increasingly assertive China in Asia and is eager to expand relations across the board, particularly in the security sphere.

McKinley, a career diplomat who has also served as US ambassador in Colombia and Peru, is currently the deputy ambassador in Afghanistan, where the United States is drawing down its forces after 12 years of war.

He replaces the current ambassador, James Cunningham, who has held the Kabul post since 2012.

The White House has been fighting with the Senate all year to get its nominees confirmed more quickly. The last days of the current legislative session have been marked by a flurry of confirmations.

A new Senate, in which Republicans will hold a majority of seats, will be seated in January.

Obama thanks Afghans for approving treaty

President Barack Obama has thanked Afghanistan's leaders for ratifying a bilateral security agreement allowing US troops to stay in the country after this year.

Read: Afghanistan, US sign long-awaited security pact

The White House says Obama spoke by video conference Tuesday with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

They spoke shortly after the release of a Senate report on harsh interrogation techniques the US used during the George W. Bush administration.

Also read: US Senate report assails CIA’s torture techniques

The report includes details of interrogations at a facility referred to as COBALT, which is understood as the CIA's “Salt Pit” facility in Afghanistan.

The White House readout of the video conference did not mention the Senate report.

Instead, it said the leaders focused on the impending end of the US combat mission in Iraq and the mission to train and advise Afghan forces.

US lawmakers reach deal on $1.1 trillion spending bill

US congressional negotiators finalised a huge spending bill late Tuesday that funds most federal operations through next September, concluding weeks of haggling to avoid a looming government shutdown.

The $1.1-trillion measure, which includes money for anti-jihadist operations including training for moderate rebels in Syria, was agreed to with little time to spare before funding runs out at 11:59 pm Thursday.

“This bill will allow us to fulfil our constitutional duty to responsibly fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown,” Republican House Appropriations chairman Hal Rogers said after the marathon haggling concluded.

The measure combines an omnibus package funding nearly all of government through the end of fiscal year 2015.

But it sets up a showdown next February over President Barack Obama's immigration policy.

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security would limp along for two months under a continuing resolution, a form of punishment against Obama for his unilateral action to shield millions from deportation.

DHS will implement most of the executive order on immigration, and Republicans want to revisit its funding levels when Congress meets next year under full Republican control.

The bill contains $1.014 trillion in discretionary domestic spending, plus $64 billion in military overseas contingency operations in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

It provides for counterterrorism cooperation with countries like Yemen, Libya and Somalia, funds $5 billion for operations to counter the Islamic State extremist group, including $1.6 billion to train Iraqi and Kurdish security forces, and re-authorises a Pentagon program for up to $500 million to train and equip vetted Syrian opposition members.

It also provides $5.4 billion in emergency funding to respond to the Ebola crisis — slightly less than the $6 billion requested by Obama.

It earmarks $175 million for Israel's Iron Dome missile defence shield, part of a $347 million request by Israel for missile defence programs.

Leadership aides acknowledged the House will have to pass a short-term funding extension to keep the lights on beyond the shutdown deadline, as the Senate might need an extra day or two to debate and vote on the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said lawmakers should seek to avoid the “cliffhanger fights” that have come to mark several recent spending measures.

“There's no reason the government should shut down,” Reid said Tuesday.

“And we're ready to pass a year-long spending bill to take care of this."

But in a sign of tension over the 1,603-page bill at the conclusion of one of the most partisan congressional sessions in memory, House Democratic leaders hinted there could still be drama over one of the final votes of the year.

“Until we review the final language, we cannot make a determination about whether House Democrats can support this legislation, but I am hopeful," Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said.