Budget

House votes to avert government shutdown

Congress is trying to extend the current CR for another two weeks.

Federal News Network Staff

December 1, 2010 1:50 pm

< a min read

By Jolie Lee
Federal News Radio

The House of Representatives voted 239 to 178 to continue funding government on a temporary basis through Dec. 18, Reuters reports.

The temporary funding measure now must pass the Senate.

The current continuing resolution expires on Friday. Government has been operating on a CR since Oct. 1 when Congress failed to pass 12 appropriations bills.

Democrats are pushing for an omnibus bill, but Republicans want deeper cuts, Reuters says.

The House Democrats are preparing a back-up temporary funding bill that would cover the rest of the fiscal year, through Sept. 30, 2011. That bill would allow government agencies to move ahead with new initiatives that have not been funded so far.

The vote signals that the House will be out of session next week but back the week before Christmas, according to the ABC News blog.