Senate Passes Stop-Gap Spending Bill, Keeps The Lights On Through January

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 15: U.S. Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) speaks to reporters … [+] outside of his office in the U.S. Capitol Building on November 15, 2023 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate passed short-term funding legislation in an 87 to 11 vote to fund the U.S. government through early 2024. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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The Senate has passed a stop-gap funding bill to avert a government shutdown before the deadline.

The bill is identical to the one that was recently passed in the House. It extends funding for government services at current spending levels, with no spending cuts, including those targeted to the IRS. The bill does not include additional aid for Israel or Ukraine.

The extensions are only temporary. Specifically, funds for military and veterans programs, agriculture and food agencies, as well the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development will now run out on Jan. 19, 2024. Money for the Department of State, as well as the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Labor, and Health and Human Services, will now run out on Feb. 2, 2024, unless additional measures pass.

The Senate vote was 87 to 11.

The bill now moves to the White House where President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law.

An amendment proposed from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) that would reduce funding by 15%, except for the Department of Defense, military construction, and the Department of Veterans Affairs—and to rescind $30 billion from enforcement funds provided to the IRS—failed by a vote of 65 to 32.

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