OAN’s Abril Elfi
8:39 AM – Wednesday, November 15, 2023
The House has approved a bill that would avoid a government shutdown. It is now heading to the Senate.
On Tuesday, a bill to prevent a government shutdown was approved by the House. It will now move to the Senate, where it is anticipated to be passed.
If approved by the Senate, the bill would be forwarded to President Joe Biden for approval.
The bill, introduced by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), would fund certain government agencies through the middle of January, which include military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and the Energy Department. The rest would be funded through the beginning of February.
In the event that a funding bill that has been approved by both Houses and signed by the president is not in place, the federal government will close on Friday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
After Republican leaders decided to bring the short-term measure to the floor under a procedural move that required a two-thirds majority, rather than a simple majority, in order to pass, the short-term measure passed in the House with broad bipartisan support, which it needed.
In the end, the bill was passed with the support of 127 Republicans and 209 Democrats, with 336 votes in favor and 95 against. However, 93 Republicans voted against it and just two Democrats joined those Republicans.
According to Johnson, the House would have more time to work through regular appropriations legislation to pass bills for full-year agency funding under his innovative plan.
In an attempt to prevent a shutdown, Democrats publicly supported the bill on Tuesday despite their initial reservations.
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