The Democratic-controlled Senate cleared a plan to fund the government through mid-February on Thursday, preventing a government shutdown after defeating a Republican attempt to postpone the vote in protest over vaccine mandates.
The 69-28 vote keeps government financing in place until February 18, giving Democratic President Joe Biden plenty of time to approve the bill before it expires at midnight on Friday.
The Senate took action just hours after the House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 221-212, with only one Republican voting in favor.
On the heels of this deadline, Congress has another pressing deadline. The federal government is approaching its borrowing limit of $28.9 trillion, which the Treasury Department estimates will be reached by December 15. Failure to extend or lift the time limit in a timely manner could result in a financially disastrous default.
“I’m delighted that cooler heads prevailed in the end. The government will remain open, and I applaud the members of this chamber for steering us away from an unnecessary and costly shutdown “On securing a compromise with Republicans to clear the path for the bill’s passage, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
The vote put an end to weeks of speculation about whether Washington would face a government shutdown.
