US Congress approves deal to avert election-period government shutdown
Measure will keep funding the US government through December 20, when Congress will have to approve more spending
The US Congress approved a deal Wednesday to avoid a government shutdown after lawmakers sent a stopgap funding deal to President Joe Biden’s desk that will keep the lights on through the US election.
The agreement – passed with cross-party support in both chambers – came ahead of a September 30 deadline to either approve a new government budget or begin shutting down federal agencies just five weeks ahead of Election Day.
The measure, which needed huge Democratic support in the Republican-led House of Representatives to overcome a rebellion by several dozen conservatives, keeps the government operational at current spending levels until December 20.
It was rubber-stamped by the Democratic-controlled Senate within hours, as lawmakers keen to get back to their districts to campaign for the November 5 election ratcheted up the usual glacial pace of legislating.
“Americans can breathe easy that, because both sides have chosen bipartisanship, Congress is getting the job done,” Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democratic-controlled Senate, said in a statement.