The U.S. Senate has approved a temporary funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown, previously approved by the House of Representatives, Reuters reported on Saturday.
The Senate, with a Democratic majority of 88 to 9, voted to pass the measure to avoid the fourth partial shutdown of the federal government in a decade, sending it to President Joe Biden to sign into law before a deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time (07:01 a.m. Kyiv time – IF-U).
Earlier, the House of Representatives voted 335 to 91 to fund the government through November 17, with more Democrats than Republicans supporting it.
“The American people can breathe a sigh of relief: There will be no government shutdown tonight,” Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote. “From the beginning, Democrats have said that the only solution to avoid a shutdown is bipartisanship, and we are pleased that Speaker McCarthy has finally listened to our message.”
Democratic Senator Michael Bennett held up the bill for several hours in an attempt to negotiate a deal on further aid to Ukraine.
“While I would have preferred to pass the bill now with additional assistance for Ukraine, which has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, it is easier to help Ukraine with an open government than if it were closed,” said Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Earlier it was reported that the bill on temporary funding does not include US assistance to Ukraine.
