House Passes Stopgap Bill to Head Off Shutdown, With Key Issues Unresolved

The House on Thursday passed its latest short-term stopgap spending patch to head off a partial government shutdown at the end of the week, moving over the objections of right-wing Republicans to give Congress more time to resolve funding disputes that have persisted for months.

The measure, initially floated by Speaker Mike Johnson, would extend funding for half of the government for one week, through March 8, and the rest for three weeks, until March 22. The Senate was expected to pass it as early as Thursday evening, clearing it for President Biden and averting a lapse in federal funding for several agencies that otherwise would begin at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.

It passed by a vote of 320 to 99, with Democrats providing the bulk of the votes and Republicans roughly split. Ninety-seven Republicans and two Democrats opposed the measure.

Congressional leaders cleared the way for the legislation on Wednesday when they said they had come to an agreement on six of the 12 annual spending bills, and planned to finalize the details, debate the package and clear it to be signed into law by March 8. If they fail to do so, they will face another partial shutdown next week.

And even if they do, lawmakers will still have to agree on the other six spending measures, and then try to pass them individually over the next three weeks, or face yet another potential shutdown.

For months, Congress has been mired in seemingly intractable spending negotiations, as Republicans bent on steep cuts and conservative policy mandates refused to accept a deal with Democrats. The vote on Thursday marked the fourth time since September that lawmakers had essentially punted on the fight and passed a stopgap spending bill keeping government funding flowing at current levels.