House Passes Bill to Avert Another Possible Shutdown

The House passed a short-term bill Thursday to prevent a federal shutdown when the budget year ends Sept. 30, and give lawmakers until the Thanksgiving break to negotiate and approve $1.4 trillion for federal agencies. The Senate is expected to approve the stopgap bill next week, the AP reports. The vote in the Democratic-run House on the bipartisan plan was 301-123. The agency spending bills would fill in the details of this summer's budget and debt agreement between President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Republican-controlled Senate is struggling over how to move ahead with its versions of the follow-up spending bills. There is partisan skirmishing over the boundaries of the budget agreement and Trump's moves to pay for the US-Mexico border fence without congressional approval.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved three noncontroversial measures on unanimous votes as the sniping continued in the wake of Wednesday's Democratic filibuster of the almost $700 billion defense bill and other legislation. Senate Democrats accused Republicans of shortchanging health and education programs to finance the border project and would permit the president to transfer military dollars for the wall again. But Democrats also want to maintain some leverage over Trump by holding back the Pentagon measure he cares most in order to help force compromises on the domestic bills important to their party. The second-ranking House Democrat, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, was one of several lawmakers who said there's no reason that Congress cannot complete the spending bills before Thanksgiving.

(More federal budget stories.)