Congress Passes One-Week Spending Bill to Avert Government Shutdown

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) answers questions during a press conference at the U
Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Republican-led Senate has joined the House of Representatives in averting a government shutdown by funding most of the federal government for one week. The Senate approved the House’s Joint Resolution (HR Res 99) on a voice vote shortly after the House passed the Continuing Resolution on a 382 to 30 voice vote.

The CR, introduced in the House on Thursday, amends the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2017.

The current CR was set to expire on Friday.

“There’s no Democratic objection,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told NBC News.”There’s still some to be negotiated” on a long-term deal, “but the negotiators were up ’til 1:30 last night … so certainly we’re willing to give it a few more days.”

“The short-term measure was needed after negotiations between the two parties in Congress and the administration on a long-term bill fell short of Friday’s deadline,” NBC reported on Friday.

“The CR also amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to extend through May 5, 2017, a provision that provides health care benefits for certain retired miners and their families,” the congress.gov website states.

President Donald Trump has until midnight tonight to sign the Continuing Resolution.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.