House OKs funding to prevent government shutdown

The House has approved the Senate-passed stopgap measure that will fund the government through Oct. 4, ending the disagreement over disaster relief spending that threatened to shut down parts of the government when the fiscal year ends Sept. 30

The approval took place Sept. 29 during a pro forma session with only a few House members present. When the House next week reconvenes after a weeklong recess, it will vote on a longer-term continuing resolution running through Nov. 18. A meeting has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 3, according to the Office of the Clerk at the House of Representatives.

The longer-term CR would keep the government fully operational for the first seven weeks of the new fiscal year. But even with the immediate threat of a government shutdown blocked, some criticized the pace and process with which lawmakers have moved to stave off the crisis.

“While a government shutdown has been averted for the moment, these kinds of piecemeal steps serve no one well, including the men and women of the federal workforce who seek only to continue performing their missions on behalf of the public without the near-constant threat of interruption,” Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in a statement.