The US Senate on Saturday passed a temporary spending bill to keep the federal government funded through December 11, in a bid to avoid a shutdown ahead of the November midterm elections.The bill passed 90-6, with one senator voting present, and keeps federal agencies funded at current levels after the existing funding expires on September 30.The Republican-controlled House of Representatives had passed its own short-term funding bill last month. The two chambers must now reach an agreement before President Donald Trump can sign the measure into law.The Senate bill includes provisions sought by Democrats that would prevent the Trump administration from shifting funds to the Border Patrol from other programmes. It also allows funding adjustments for housing and food assistance programmes.The measure would temporarily block the White House budget office from implementing a rule that would give political appointees greater control over hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants.
Why is the Senate moving early?
The vote came more than a month before the September 30 deadline, as both parties seek to avoid another government shutdown ahead of the November 3 congressional elections.The US government has already faced multiple funding lapses during the current fiscal year, increasing pressure on lawmakers to reach an agreement before the deadline.Senator Susan Collins, Republican chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, said avoiding another shutdown “should be a priority for each and every one of us”.Democratic Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, called the bill “an important step forward to prevent a shutdown no one wants”.The spending bill also includes a provision, requested by Trump, that would delay by one month a federal ban on intoxicating hemp products.The ban, approved by Congress and signed into law last year, is currently scheduled to take effect in November.The provision faced opposition from some Republican senators, who argued that the ban should take effect as planned. The Senate rejected an attempt to remove the delay by a 61-32 vote.The measure now faces uncertainty in the House, where lawmakers will have to agree on the Senate’s version before it can reach Trump’s desk.
