US House votes to avert US government shutdown

US House votes to avert US government shutdown,


Two hundred and seven Democrats joined 113 Republicans in a 320-99 vote to approve the short-term stopgap measure, which would extend federal funding that expires at midnight on Friday (0500 GMT on Saturday) by one week and set a March 22 funding deadline for other government agencies.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hoped his chamber would pass the bill, known as a continuing resolution, or "CR," on Thursday evening and forward it to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

While both chambers' leaders agreed on the measure, there are potential stumbling blocks in the Senate, where some hardline Republicans are expected to demand amendment votes in exchange for their consent to fast-track the bill.

The stopgap, the fourth needed to keep federal agencies open in the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1, is intended to give the U.S. House and Senate time to pass 12 appropriations bills to fund the government.

About two months have passed since Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Schumer agreed on a US$1.59 trillion discretionary spending level for the fiscal year. House and Senate leaders on Wednesday reached agreement on a slate of full-year appropriations bills to fill in the details.

Johnson, who has wielded the speaker's gavel only since late October, once again relied on a procedural move that required substantial Democratic support to pass the CR, a tactic that could anger hardline conservatives.

In a sign of potential problems for Johnson, the measure was opposed by 97 Republicans.

Johnson had been pressured by hardline Republicans to use a shutdown as a bargaining chip to force Democrats to accept conservative policy riders, including partisan provisions to restrict the flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.