Politics

Congress Passes Two-Week Funding Bill To Avoid Government Shutdown

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The House and Senate passed legislation Thursday afternoon that will fund the federal government for two weeks in order to avoid a shutdown.

This comes as the House of Representatives canceled votes for the week after former President George H.W. Bush passed away on Nov. 30, despite the risk of a possible government shutdown. The passing of the legislation will give both sides time to debate funding for a border wall, which has become the main issue for government funding. Republicans have continued to fight for billions of dollars in funding, while Democrats do not want to fund the wall at all.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the idea of a border wall “immoral, ineffective, and expensive,” in a Thursday press conference on Capitol Hill. “And the president, he also promised that Mexico would pay for it,” she added. “Even if they did, it’s immoral still, and they’re not going to pay for it.”

Funding for the government was set to expire Friday. However, the House passed the two-week resolution to avoid a government shutdown by unanimous consent in a voice vote, meaning members did not have to be present for the vote. The bill was then approved by the Senate, which is in session, funding the government until Dec. 21.

Congress already passed 75 percent of government funding through September and President Donald Trump signed off on it.

The next votes in the House are scheduled for Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m.

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