Senate passes bill to prevent a government shutdown, sending it to the House
Congress will vote to avoid a government shutdown on Thursday, one day before the deadline.
WASHINGTON — Congress passed a bill on Thursday that would prevent a partial government shutdown this weekend and keep federal funds flowing through March 1 and March 8.
The Democratic-led Senate voted 77-18 on final passage after considering a few amendments. The Republican-led House soon followed suit, passing it by a vote of 314-108.
The bill now goes to President Joe Biden's desk to become law before the funding expires Friday at midnight.
It is the third stopgap bill since last September as the divided Congress struggles to agree on full-year government funding bills. Thursday's bill passed with mostly Democratic votes, with 107 Republicans voting for it and 106 voting against it.
A recent deal between Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on how much to spend in the new year has renewed hope of completing the process by the new early March deadlines. But that is far from guaranteed as right-wing House Republicans rebel against it.
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