Congress approves resolution, narrowly avoids government shutdown
The U.S. Capitol is pictured. The House of Representatives and Senate approved a resolution to avoid government shutdown for 45 days. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Christopher Buchanan
Sept. 30, 2023 7:28 p.m.
The United States government narrowly avoided a shutdown after Congress passed a temporary spending bill that will fund government operations through mid-November.
Hours before the Oct. 1 deadline, the House of Representatives voted 335-91 to approve the continuing resolution H.R. 5860, a short-term spending bill intended to continue funding agencies and services operated by the U.S. government for 45 days. This includes the Environmental Protection Agency, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and government employee pay, according to a newsletter from New York Rep. Jerry Nadler.
The U.S. Senate then voted 88-9 to approve the spending bill three hours before the deadline, allocating $16 billion to a disaster relief fund. However, the bill did not include any funding for Ukraine, which led Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet to hold up the bill upon initial Senate consideration, according to the New York Times.
The bill will go to President Biden’s desk for approval immediately.
The last government shutdown occurred from December 2018 to January 2019 and lasted for 35 days.
