Senate passes funding bill to prevent shutdown through US midterms

Bill must still be approved by House but would keep government running at current funding levels The US Senate on Friday passed a government funding bill that will prevent a shutdown through the midterm elections, though it still must be approved by the House of Representatives. The continuing resolution (CR) passed by a 90-6 vote will keep the government running at its current funding levels until 11 December, more than a month past the midterms in which Democrats are hoping to regain control of Congress and block Donald Trump’s legislative agenda for the final two years of his presidency. The measure’s passage signals a recognition by both parties that they would prefer to avoid a messy battle over federal spending in the weeks leading up to the 3 November vote. The government will shut down after 30 September if new funding is not approved, and the Republican Senate appropriations committee chair, Susan Collins, called the CR “a major step toward averting a damaging shutdown that only harms vital programs and federal workers”, and noted it makes no major changes to funding levels. The House had last month approved a different CR that would continue funding until 4 December. It i