U.S. Congress Backed Extending Government Funding Until December 3

On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a temporary funding initiative for the federal government through December 3. There were 254 congressmen in favor of the document, and 175 more voted against it.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Senate approved a similar initiative. Now the document will go to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The U.S. fiscal year 2021 ends on September 30, but lawmakers have not yet agreed on a full budget for the next year. In this regard, the initiative to temporarily extend the government’s funding must be approved before Friday. Otherwise, the country could face a new “shutdown” – a government shutdown. The last time that happened was on December 22, 2018, which resulted in government workers being placed on forced leave for a record-breaking 35 days.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the national debt limit until the end of 2022 and temporarily fund the federal government until December 3 of this year. However, this bill failed to pass a procedural vote in the Senate because of opposition from Republicans. Democrats then decided to separate the two initiatives. On Wednesday, congressmen supported suspending the national debt limit. The Senate is expected to consider the debt ceiling issue next week.