US House passes stopgap measure to avert government shutdown

The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved a temporary funding bill, in a major step towards avoiding a government shutdown hours before current funding was slated to expire.

The House voted 335-91 to fund the government for another 45 days, with more Democrats (209) than Republicans (126) supporting it.

The measure would extend government funding by 45 days if it passes the Democratic-majority Senate and is signed into law by Democratic President Joe Biden before 12:01am (04:01 GMT) deadline on Sunday.

The move marked a profound shift from earlier in the week when a shutdown looked all but inevitable. Democrats overwhelmingly backed the 11th-hour Republican measure to keep federal funding going, albeit with a freeze on Washington’s massive aid to Ukraine.

The stopgap measure was pitched by Speaker Kevin McCarthy with just hours to go before a midnight shutdown deadline that would have seen millions of federal employees and military personnel sent home or required to work without pay.

(Aljazeera)