Senate Passes Funding Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

Yesterday, the Senate voted on a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown at the end of the week ahead of todays deadline. The Senate passed the order by a vote of 65 to 27. Prior to the vote the Senate took three votes on amendments put forward by Republicans but all failed. Two of the amendments would have prohibited funding for vaccine mandates while the other would have imposed a balanced budget requirement. Last week, the House of Representatives voted on a bipartisan basis to approve the measure which will extend funding through March 11th. The bill will now be sent to President Biden’s desk for signature. Lawmakers are also working to lock in a broader spending package but said they need more time to finish it and needed a short-term funding extension to avert the shutdown.