Senate Approves Bipartisan Spending Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

The U.S. Senate reached a bipartisan deal on stopgap spending that is designed to avoid a government shutdown. The deal is also expected to defuse a fight over aid to be provided to victims of hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters.

Senate Passes Two Measures in Spending Bill

Senators approved legislation on Monday night, with a vote of 79-12, to finance the government through Nov. 18. The measure included $2.65 billion for federal disaster assistance.

In addition to the vote to extend the spending bill for several weeks, the senators passed on a voice vote a measure to tide the government over through Oct. 4.

The House of Representatives is in recess this week, so the senators passed the voice vote with the expectation the House would approve the short-term bill by unanimous consent, without bringing members back to Washington since the 2011 fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

When the representatives return, they’ll have a chance to take a closer look at the longer funding measure.

Representatives Expected to Pass Agreement

New York Senator Charles Schumer, the chamber’s third-ranking Democrat, told reporters after the votes, “We expect speedy passage of this agreement by the House so that the flow of disaster aid is not interrupted.”

He went on to say, “It is hard to see how the House Republicans could reject this proposal given the overwhelming” support it received in the Senate.

Last week, the House representatives passed their own spending bill to avoid a shutdown while giving the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 3.65 billion to add to the disaster-relief fund through Sept. 30.

However, by the time Senate began working on their own version of the spending bill, FEMA said it had enough funds to help disaster victims this week and would only need funding at the beginning of the fiscal year, starting next week.

While there is no official word on whether the House Republicans–expected to decline the bill–will submit their approval, House Speaker John Boehner’s spokesman, Michael Steel, said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg, “Republicans support getting Americans suffering in the wake of natural disasters the help they need–and doing it in a fiscally responsible way.”