Congressional leaders said on Wednesday they had agreed to another short-term stopgap spending bill to head off a partial government shutdown at the end of the week, paving the way for a temporary path out of a stalemate that has repeatedly threatened federal funding over the past six months.
The deal, initially floated by Speaker Mike Johnson, would extend funding for some government agencies for a week, through March 8, and the rest for another two weeks, until March 22.
The leaders said they had come to an agreement on six of the 12 annual spending bills that would “be voted on and enacted prior to March 8.” The stopgap measure was necessary, they said, to allow appropriators “adequate time to execute on this deal in principle,” and to allow lawmakers review its text.
“We are in agreement that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government,” they said in a joint statement.
The deal paved the way for a vote in the House as soon as Thursday to keep the government open, with the Senate expected to follow suit before a midnight deadline on Friday.
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