Newsroom

September 30, 2015

House, Senate pass spending measure; government shutdown averted

Both the House and Senate passed a federal government funding bill that will at least delay any federal government shutdown until midnight Dec. 11, when the stopgap measure runs out.

The votes occurred ahead of the midnight deadline when a default government shutdown would have kicked in.

The bill, which reportedly also provides emergency funding to fight wildfires and extends the expiring authority of the Federal Aviation Administration, pass the Senate 78-20 and the House 277-151.

This short-term spending bill buys only two months for Congress and the White House to come to a year-end spending deal. The House will be under new Republican leadership by the time a new deal is forged as current House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced he would be retiring at the end of October.