Senate approves government funding resolution to avert shutdown

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a two-step stopgap funding measure, preventing a government shutdown that would have gone into effect this weekend.

>> Read more trending news

The vote was 87-11 in favor of the continuing resolution, or CR. Sixty votes were needed for passage.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature. Congress had a deadline of 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to pass the continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. Biden has indicated that he would sign the measure.

“Keeping the government open is a good outcome. But we have a lot more to do after Thanksgiving,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said on the Senate floor Wednesday night.

Passage of the CR followed Tuesday’s vote by the House. The resolution passed by a 336-95 margin before heading to the Senate.

The first continuing resolution extends funding until Jan. 19, 2024, according to the newspaper reported. The measure would include funding for military and veterans programs, agriculture and food agencies, and cash to the departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, according to the newspaper.

The second phase of funding would prevent a shutdown until Feb. 2, 2024, and would include cash to the State, Justice, Commerce, Labor and Health and Human Services departments, the Post reported.

The proposal extends funding at current levels and does not include more aid for Israel or Ukraine, according to CNN. It also excludes funding at the U.S. border with Mexico, The Associated Press reported.

Passage of the resolution was delayed for several hours Wednesday when Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the top Republican on the Armed Forces Committee, sought a vote on a procedural step toward passing the National Defense Authorization Act, CNN reported.

Wicker wanted the act to go to a conference committee to work out the differences in the bill between the Senate and House, according to NBC News.

Senators then voted down an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., which added spending cuts to the bill passed by the House. The vote was 65-32.

A laddered measure like the one proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson had never been attempted by Congress, according to the Post.

In 1991, a continuing resolution extended federal funding for 45 days but gave a longer deadline to the State Department and foreign operations so it could accommodate negotiations between President George H.W. Bush and Congress as they haggled over economic development aid to Israel, the Post reported.

©2023 Cox Media Group