WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted a short-term budget bill that extends federal funding at current levels until December 23 in order to avoid paralysis of federal services.
Lawmakers voted 224-201 in favor of the bill, which is now headed for the Senate.
There is growing urgency to secure the funding, as members of Congress have until midnight Friday to adopt a new budget, otherwise all funding for federal services will be cut and operations across swathes of the government will screech to a halt.
The temporary bill would give Congress another week to reach a compromise.
Governmental departments and other federal buildings, but also national parks, some museums and other organizations would be impacted, forcing the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
A winter 2018-2019 shutdown, the longest in US history, even affected baggage screening at airports.
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Despite strong partisan divisions, most elected officials in both the Democratic and Republican parties do not want a shutdown, which risks creating chaos before the holidays.
The two parties are currently unable to agree on a final budget for the fiscal year 2023.
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