The short-term spending bill averts a government shutdown that would have been triggered Saturday.
Congress has approved a short-term spending package to avert a government shutdown, the fourth stopgap measure in recent months.
The bill, which passed the Senate on a bipartisan 77-13 vote, provides funding for some federal agencies to continue operations through March 8 and others through March 22. The move would avert a closure that was supposed to begin on Saturday.
The funding would avoid disruption to many government functions, including food safety inspections and air traffic controller salaries.
US President Joe Biden now needs to sign the bill into law.
“I am pleased to inform the American people that there will be no government shutdown on Friday. Passing this bill will, thank God, prevent a government shutdown that would have any negative impact on the American people.” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor.
The Senate vote comes after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted earlier to approve stopgap funding.
The fiscal year began Oct. 1, but Congress has yet to approve the 12 annual spending bills that make up the federal budget.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said negotiators have reached agreement on six items in the spending bill and are close to agreement on others.
“We will get the job done,” Johnson said as he left a closed-door meeting with his Republican colleagues.
Congress will face further battles in the coming weeks over funding levels for many programs that Republicans want to cut.
Johnson has come under pressure from hard-line Republicans to use the shutdown as a bargaining chip to get Democrats to accept conservative policy priorities, including measures to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. was.
Chip Roy, Texas Congressman, Allied Republicans said they hope to persuade Johnson to push through a new spending bill that would fund the government through the end of September but cut non-defense spending.
“We believe it can be done. We believe it will actually be a good alternative,” Roy told reporters.