WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate was preparing to vote early on Saturday on final passage of a bill providing $1.2 trillion to avoid a partial government shutdown, after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a deal just before a midnight deadline.
The Senate was quickly working its way through a series of proposed amendments – all of which were expected to fail – before casting votes on passing the bill, which was approved on Friday in the House of Representatives.
If successful, as expected, the Senate would dispatch the 1,012-page bill that includes funding for the Defense, Homeland Security and other federal agencies to President Joe Biden for signing into law.
After a long day of negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans over amendments that could be offered, the Senate failed to meet the Friday midnight deadline for approving the massive bill. Temporary funding was expiring at that deadline.
But the White House Office of Management and Budget promptly announced that it would cease plans for shutting federal agencies given its confidence in the Senate’s ability to approve the full funding for about two-thirds of government programs for the rest of the fiscal year, ending on Sept. 30.
Earlier this month Congress approved funding for the other one-third of discretionary programs.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and William Mallard)
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