Congress Clears Stopgap Spending Bill for Biden, Moving to Avert Shutdown

Congress on Thursday raced to send legislation to avert a partial government shutdown to President Biden, moving to fund federal agencies through early March one day before money was to run out.

Over the strenuous opposition of far-right Republicans, the House voted 314 to 108 to approve the stopgap funding just hours after the Senate provided overwhelming bipartisan backing for the measure in a 77-to-18 vote, allowing lawmakers to narrowly beat a Friday deadline.

“There will not be a shutdown on Friday,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said. “Because both sides have worked together, the government will stay open. Services will not be disrupted. We will avoid a needless disaster.”

Passage of the bill affords lawmakers another six weeks to negotiate and pass a dozen spending bills totaling $1.66 trillion to fund the government through the fall, the level Democrats and Republicans agreed upon earlier this month. That plan would hold most federal spending steady while bolstering the military.

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