Congress holds on to expense accounts - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Members of the House of Representatives have voted to protect their own expense accounts from budget cuts.         

The bipartisan 307-102 vote came on a $3.3 billion measure to fund congressional operations.         

Republicans controlling the House are trying to cut domestic budgets by about 5 percent. But for their own staff, travel and office expenses, they opted to freeze a $574 million budget after two years of cuts.         

The overall bill would also cut back on repairs to the iconic Capitol dome, which dates to the Civil War.