Senate Passes Last-Minute Bill To Prevent Government Shutdown

Feb 17, 2022, 07:17pm

The Senate passed a stopgap bill to keep the government funded through March 11 and give legislators more time to work out a full-year budget.

The Senate passed a continuing resolution to keep the government open.

The bill passed the House of Representatives last week and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised to pass it quickly.

The Senate voted on two unsuccessful amendments that sought to stop federal funding for enforcement of vaccine mandates.

An amendment by Sen. Mike Braun that would have required the federal government to balance its budget in 10 years was rejected with 47 votes to approve and 45 votes against.

Congress failed to pass a budget for the current fiscal year, forcing them to pass a series of temporary measures to avoid a government shutdown. If Congress fails to pass a full budget for the rest of the year, Democrats and President Joe Biden could opt for a year-long stopgap funding measure. Democrats control the House and Senate by razor-thin margins, and they are juggling budget-related measures with Biden's nearly $2 trillion Build Back Better Act, which is stuck in the Senate.

The Senate's most senior member, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), had an exchange with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The Cutting Rampant Access to Crack Kits (CRACK) Act would prohibit the federal government from directly or indirectly purchasing, supplying or distributing crack pipes or similar paraphernalia. The Department of Health and Human Services has said that some of its grant funding for the next fiscal year will go towards safe smoking kits and supplies. The matter was not an issue and was accused of emboldening Russia through a public show of disunity and pointless conflict.

The House passed a short-term funding bill to prevent a government shutdown.