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The U.S. House of Representatives passed a 45-day funding bill in a bid to keep the federal government open. In his latest effort, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) dropped demands for deep spending cuts and was able to shepherd the bill through with the support of Democrats.
The bill now goes to the Senate for a vote. The House bill didn’t include aid to Ukraine, a White House priority opposed by an increasing number of Republicans, but includes $16B for federal disaster assistance, the Associated Press reported.
The package was approved 335 to 91, with almost all Democrats and most Republicans voting for it.
If there’s no deal by 12:01 AM ET Sunday, large numbers of federal workers will go on furlough, and more than two million active-duty and reserve military troops will work but won’t get paid. Essential government workers would also continue to work without pay until the government gets funding.
The package passed by the House keeps government funding at 2023 levels for 45 days, through Nov. 17 and moves closer to a bipartisan deal. The Senate stopgap funding bill would have included $6B of aid for Ukraine and $6B for U.S. disaster relief.
An earlier House bill sought to fund the federal government at 2022 levels and impose immigration and national security restrictions. That package was rejected by the House on Friday.
By relying on Democrats to pass the bill, McCarthy is risking his position as House Speaker. Some hardline Republicans had been threatening to force a vote on his position if he didn’t include all their demands.
“If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try,” McCarthy said, according to AP reporting. “But I think this country is too important.”
With the progress made in the House, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnel said, “There is growing hope that we may actually avoid a shutdown.”
While Democrats wanted the Ukraine aid in the short-term funding measure, both Republicans supporting aid and Democrats say that issue can be dealt with separately.
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