WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) — The Senate easily passed a temporary funding measure Wednesday that will keep the U.S. government open through Dec. 11, averting a government shutdown that would have started at midnight.
The funding bill now goes before the House, where outgoing Speaker John Boehner promised a vote over objections from fellow Republicans who hoped to leverage government funding to defund Planned Parenthood. The measure, passed 78-20 in the Senate, continues to fund the nonprofit women’s health care organization. The Obama administration is said to support the measure.
“The bill before us would keep the government open and allow time for cooler heads to prevail,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
McConnell and Boehner have repeatedly said they want to see Planned Parenthood funding canceled, but would not go along with some 30 conservative Republicans willing to shut down the government over the issue. Even with this stopgap measure, a new shutdown threat could arise in December if conservatives try again to attach Planned Parenthood to government funding.
Last week, Boehner announced he will resign at the end of October, leaving the next speaker to face the possibility of a shutdown.
“That means within the coming weeks we will again be negotiating with Republicans to avoid another shutdown,” said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. “Our constituents don’t want every simple legislative task to turn into a doomsday clock.”
The 2016 fiscal year begins Thursday and federal agencies cannot continue operating unless Congress approves funding for the new year.
