House passes latest short-term funding measure

Yet another measure to provide temporary funding for the government and forestall a shutdown has passed the House of Representatives. The measure passed late Tuesday by a vote of 271-158. The bill now goes to the Senate.

It is just the latest in a series of temporary measures to keep funding available in the short term. Republicans and Democrats are at loggerheads on proposed cuts in spending, and have been unable to reach a compromise.

Read the text of the bill here.

Reacting to passage in the House, White House spokesman Jay Carney issued a statement, saying: "The short-term funding bill passed in the House of Representatives today gives Congress some breathing room to find consensus on a long-term measure that funds the government through the end of the fiscal year.  The President urges the Senate to pass this bill to avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery.  But the President has been clear: with the wide range of issues facing our nation, we cannot keep funding the government in two- or three-week increments.  It is time for us to come together, find common ground and resolve this issue in a sensible way."