Congress Votes to Avert Government Shutdown
September 30, 2021, 4:15 p.m. ET
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed Thursday a continuing resolution to continue federal appropriations through December 3.
President Biden is expected to sign the bill ahead of the midnight ET deadline to prevent a government shutdown.
Included in the resolution is an additional $28.6 billion for federal response to the recent hurricanes that hit the Gulf and East coasts, wildfires, ongoing COVID-19 response, as well as $6.3 billion to assist with resettling Afghan evacuees.
The House and Senate agreed to terms of the resolution after Democratic leadership decided to remove a provision to suspend the nation's debt limit. Originally, the measure failed in the Senate earlier this week after Senate Republicans' opposed linking the two issues in the same bill. Lawmakers will need to act on the debt limit ahead of October 18, which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned will be the date the limit is reached.
Congress will need to pass all 12 appropriations bills prior to December 3, otherwise lawmakers will need to pass yet another continuing resolution.