US Senate passes stopgap funding bill to avert shutdown ahead of midterms

The bill also bars the Trump administration from shifting federal funds to the Border Patrol from other programmes. The US Senate on Saturday passed a temporary spending bill to keep the federal government funded through December 11, in a bid to avoid a shutdown ahead of the November midterm elections.The bill passed 90-6, with one senator voting present, and keeps federal agencies funded at current levels after the existing funding expires on September 30.The Republican-controlled House of Representatives had passed its own short-term funding bill last month. The two chambers must now reach an agreement before President Donald Trump can sign the measure into law.The Senate bill includes provisions sought by Democrats that would prevent the Trump administration from shifting funds to the Border Patrol from other programmes. It also allows funding adjustments for housing and food assistance programmes.The measure would temporarily block the White House budget office from implementing a rule that would give political appointees greater control over hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants.Why is the Senate moving early?The vote came more than a month before the September 30 ...