US House of Representatives Approves Budget Bill Averting Gov't Shutdown

The US House of Representatives has passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill with 219 members of the House having voted for it and 206 having voted against the measure.

WASHINGTON, December 12 (Sputnik) – The US House of Representatives has passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill just hours before the government's spending authority was due to expire, which could have led to a shutdown.

The budget bill was passed late on Thursday, with 219 members of the House having voted for it and 206 having voted against the measure. It will now need to be passed by the Senate before going to US President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

Earlier on Thursday, House speaker John Boehner expressed confidence that the bill would pass Congress, which is now fully controlled by Republicans, despite some objections from Democrats.

The bill will fund most of the US federal government through September, 2015, but because of the Republican's resistance to Obama's executive order on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security will only be funded through February. This will allow House and Senate Republicans to revisit the immigration reform issue and challenge it next year.

Last year, Congress could not agree either on an annual federal budget or a short-term funding bill, which led to a partial US government shutdown.