US Congress Passes Spending Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

The US Senate has joined the US House in passing a two-week stopgap spending bill that maintains current funding levels and avoids a federal government shutdown.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Senate passed the measure 84 to 14 shortly after the US House passed the bill on Thursday

"The Senate just passed a 2-week funding bill that will maintain our military and provide states with the certainty to continue children’s health insurance program while a longer bipartisan agreement is finalized," Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.

GOP lawmaker says next spending bill won't include key ObamaCare payments https://t.co/X1IFvTPhTF pic.twitter.com/pqrJClAYcd

— The Hill (@thehill) 8 декабря 2017 г.

Earlier in the day, the US House of Representatives approved the stopgap measure 235 to 193 that will give Republicans and Democrats two weeks until December 22.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier wrote on Twitter that negotiators were "making good headway" on a budget package that would benefit US military and correspond with immediate priorities.

Schumer noted that nobody would want to see a government shutdown, despite President Donald Trump saying that it could happen.