The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a temporary bill to fund the federal government through early March and avert a partial government shutdown, sending it to President Joe Biden for final approval.
The bill was opposed by 106 Republicans and 2 Democrats.
Earlier Thursday, the Senate easily passed the bill with a 77-18 vote before the weekend hit. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said on the Senate floor just before the vote in that chamber:
“We have good news for America. There will not be a shutdown on Friday.”
According to House Speaker Mike Johnson, the total budget is $1.590 billion, with $886 billion allocated for defence and $704 billion for other purposes.
The bill does not spell out additional aid to Israel and Ukraine. A bipartisan group of senators have been negotiating a deal to pair border and immigration policy changes with aid to Ukraine.
Passage of the bill gives lawmakers six more weeks to negotiate and pass a dozen more spending bills to fund the government through the autumn, a level Democrats and Republicans agreed to earlier this month. The plan would keep most federal spending flat while strengthening the military.
The congressional action has prepared the plan for Mr. Biden, who is expected to sign it quickly before midnight on Friday. It is the third time since the start of the fiscal year on 1 October that Congress has extended spending on a temporary basis.
