Stopgap Bill Passed by U.S. Senate to Temporarily Avert Government Shutdown
The 87-11 vote cast by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, November 15th has removed the risk of an impending partial government shutdown. The passage of the stopgap spending bill “marks the end of this year’s third fiscal standoff in Congress,” and comes in time for President Biden to sign into law before the upcoming weekend deadline. Had a shutdown occurred, it would have put Washington on the “brink of defaulting on its more than $31 trillion in debt this spring and twice within days of a partial shutdown that would have interrupted pay for more than 4 million federal workers” and closed national parks. The bill gives Congress just over two months of “breathing room” with the next deadline January 19th.