House passes stopgap funding bill to keep government open through December
The U.S. House approved a short-term appropriations measure that funds the federal government through Dec. 11, averting a shutdown as lawmakers head into the election season.
The House approved a stopgap spending bill on Tuesday that extends funding for federal agencies at current levels until Dec. 11, aiming to prevent a government shutdown before the fiscal year ends in September. The measure, which passed 370-48, had already cleared the Senate and now awaits the president’s signature.
Republican House Appropriations Committee chairman Rep. Tom Cole said the bill provides “certainty that the government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned of “the threat of another Democratic shutdown” before the vote and later said the chamber was “doing the grown-up thing, get[ting] the job done.”
Democratic lead appropriations member Rep. Rosa DeLauro urged her colleagues to support the revised bill, noting improvements such as restrictions on the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to transfer funds to Border Patrol and a delay of a proposed rule that would give political appointees greater authority over federal grants. She said the delay is “an important first step” but called for further action to ensure disaster relief is not tied to political considerations.
The short-term measure buys lawmakers additional time to negotiate a full-year funding package, a task complicated by divergent priorities: Republicans seek increased defense spending while cutting non-defense programs, whereas Democrats push for a bipartisan approach that treats domestic programs on equal footing.