Washington ? The Senate on Thursday endorsed a free trade agreement with six Latin American nations, handing a major win to President Bush, who has promoted the accord as a mark of U.S. commitment to democracy and prosperity in the hemisphere.

The vote was 54-45 in favor of the Central America Free Trade Agreement, setting the stage for a final battle in the House, where the agreement’s many critics have vowed to defeat it.

The House vote, probably in July, is too close to call.

“The stakes could hardly be higher,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a supporter. “It’s important because at stake is the future of Central America in its economic and political dimensions and hence its security dimensions.”

U.S. officials signed the agreement a year ago with the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua as well as the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. It needs congressional approval to go into effect, however.

Meanwhile, the House approved a 3.1 percent pay raise for about 1.8 million federal civilian employees Thursday as part of a fiscal 2006 spending bill covering transportation, housing, the Treasury and the District of Columbia.

The raise exceeds President Bush’s proposed increase of 2.3 percent for federal civilian employees and 3.1 percent for the military. The Senate has not yet taken up the pay raise in its version of the bill, but the House’s decision sends a strong signal that federal employees can expect to receive the 3.1 percent raise next year.

Legislators also reversed years of congressional votes that showed supporters of easing U.S. sanctions on Cuba gaining strength, as the House rejected three such proposals Thursday and gave a categorical win to supporters of a tough line on Havana.

The House also agreed late Thursday to immediately spend nearly $1 billion on veterans health care in a swift answer to the president’s call for lawmakers to plug a politically troubling shortfall.