US House passes short-term funding bill to avert pre-election government shutdown

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - 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.

Without action by Congress, funding for most federal agency programs will expire at midnight on September 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

(Reporting by David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Kanishka Singh in Washington)