Senate Passes 3 Week Spending Bill, Averting Government Shutdown

Congress gave final approval on Thursday to a bill to fund the government through March 11, averting a shutdown this week and giving lawmakers more time to cement a deal on spending for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Passage of the short term measure in the Senate came less than 

8 hours before government funding was sent to lapse, as lawmakers rushed to leave Washington for a weeklong recess. It passed 65 to 27, just over a week after the House approved it.

The legislation, which will keep the government funded through March 11, now heads to President Biden’s desk. He is expected to sign it.

Lawmakers and aides believe a three-week extension will provide enough time to finalize a deal on the dozens of bills needed to keep agencies and parts of the federal government open for the remainder of the financial year. Lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement, relying instead  on a series of interim bills that maintain funding levels set in place under the Trump administration.

But top lawmakers from both parties and both houses said last week they had resolved differences under a plan, without disclosing any details. Lawmakers and aides familiar with the emerging deal signaled it would boost both military spending as well as national and social programs.

If they can work out the details of the deal, the full spending package will not only increase spending, but also unlock funding under the bipartisan Infrastructure Act and for the first time in a decade, will fund stamps that allow individual lawmakers to direct money toward specific projects in their state.