US Senate passes stopgap funding bill to avert government shutdown

Published Nov 15, 2023 06:04AM ET Updated Nov 15, 2023 11:35PM ET
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol Building is seen in Washington, U.S., August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm/File Photo/File Photo
By David Morgan and Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate took the risk of an impending partial government shutdown off the table on Wednesday as it passed a stopgap spending bill and sent it to President Joe Biden to sign into law before a weekend deadline.
The 87-11 vote marked the end of this year’s third fiscal standoff in Congress that saw lawmakers bring Washington to the brink of defaulting on its more than $31 trillion in debt this spring and twice within days of a partial shutdown that would have interrupted pay for about 4 million federal workers.
The last near-miss with shutdown led to the Oct. 3 ouster of Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy that left the chamber leaderless for three weeks.
But lawmakers have bought themselves just a little more than two months’ breathing room. The Democratic-majority Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives’ next deadline is Jan. 19, just days after the Iowa caucuses signal the start of the 2024 presidential campaign season.