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WASHINGTON - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a short-term measure to avert a possible government shutdown ahead of the November midterm elections by funding federal agencies through December 4.
The vote sends the stopgap, known as a continuing resolution, to the Senate, where Republican leaders are exploring their own short-term funding bill in negotiations with Democrats.
The resolution authorizing government spending narrowly passed by a vote of 220-205.
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Without action by Congress, funding for most federal agency programs will expire at midnight on September 30, the end of the current fiscal year.
The shutdown threat is the latest over the past several years. In April, Congress finally ended a historic Department of Homeland Security shutdown, resolving the longest crisis of its kind in American history.
The April vote resolved a political showdown that plagued Capitol Hill and the country for about 75 days. The ordeal, which exposed fierce acrimony between House and Senate Republicans, left thousands of workers without pay, upended air travel and jeopardized Americans' safety.
The impasse was prompted by congressional Democrats' demands for immigration enforcement reforms after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. Yet the big changes they wanted, such as a ban on masks for officers and judicial warrant requirements for immigration raids, never materialized.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House narrowly passes short-term funding bill to avert government shutdown
