US House passes stopgap to avoid government shutdown, Senate next

[WASHINGTON] The US House of Representatives passed a federal spending extension on Wednesday aimed at avoiding a government shutdown and allowing lawmakers more time for negotiations on coronavirus relief and the 2021 budget.

The resolution easily cleared the Democratic-led chamber by a vote of 343 to 67 and is expected to clear the Republican-controlled Senate before a Friday-into-Saturday midnight deadline to prevent a shutdown.

The short-term measure keeps federal agencies operating at current funding levels until December 18.

This will avoid compounding the Covid-19 crisis that has pushed the healthcare system to its limits as protracted stimulus negotiations failed to bear fruit.

Number two House Democrat Steny Hoyer expressed hope that a deal could be reached but said the stopgap itself was a "recognition of failure." "This is something we have to do to keep the government working," Mr Hoyer told colleagues before the vote.

"But we ought not to believe or pretend or represent this is the way we ought to do business. It is not. It is a function of procrastination, a function of failing to come together and making compromises."

Passing sweeping spending legislation is often difficult in a divided Washington but the process has been particularly complicated this week as leaders of both parties traded barbs over a pandemic relief package.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a US$908 billion measure but the two sides on Wednesday remained at loggerheads as the White House introduced its own proposal that was shot down by Democrats who said it dramatically cuts proposed unemployment benefits.

AFP