Senate passes bill funding govt. through February

The sun sets at the the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, with the deadline to fund the government approaching. 

 

The House passed a bill to extend government funding through Feb. 18 early on Thursday.

The measure then went to the Senate where it faced a partisan battle. Some Senate Republicans indicated they would push for a shutdown in an effort to fight Joe Biden’s OSHA vaccine mandate.

This came as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters he hoped the bill would pass through the upper chamber by Thursday night.

Later in the night, the Senate passed the resolution to continue government funding through February of next year. The measure passed in a 69-28 vote.

“I am glad that in the end, cooler heads prevailed. The government will stay open,” said Schumer after the vote.

Government Funding Extended Through February 18, 2022.

5:33pm ET – Passage in the House.

9:24pm ET – Passage in the Senate.

.@SenSchumer: "I'm happy to let the American people know the government remains open." pic.twitter.com/n6kxETvk2P

— CSPAN (@cspan) December 3, 2021

The government was within 24-hours of shutting down before coming to their decision.

The bill expenses various additional Biden administration endeavors, setting aside billions of dollars in the legislation to go towards Biden’s vaccine mandate and supporting Afghan refugees. Meanwhile, the stopgap measure assures government funding until Feb. 18, however, the debt ceiling remains unaddressed to avoid sending the U.S. into default.