House passes $460B spending bill to avert partial shutdown

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a $460 billion spending bill that will find approximately half of the federal government through the remainder of the budget year.

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The bipartisan bill passed by a 339-85 margin, The New York Times reported. The measure will avert a partial shutdown that was looming at the end of the week, according to the newspaper.

The bill now heads to the Senate, which must pass it by midnight Saturday to keep agencies running, The Washington Post reported. It is not expected to encounter major opposition in the upper chamber of Congress.

Lawmakers are working on a second package of six bills, hoping to have all federal agencies fully funded by a March 22 deadline, according to The Associated Press.

Total discretionary spending that Congress is considering is expected to amount to $1.66 trillion for the entire year, the news organization reported.

“We want to cut spending. We want to limit the size and scope of the federal government. The reality right now is that we have divided government,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednersday. “So we have to be realistic about what we’re able to achieve.”

The spending package passed by the House on Wednesday includes six bills and extends funding through Sept. 30, according to the Times. Federal programs covering agriculture, energy and the environment, transportation, housing, the Justice Department and veterans will be covered by Wednesday’s measure, the newspaper reported.

“Passing these bills will give us much-needed momentum to finish the next package of spending bills by the March 22 deadline,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday, according to the Post. “But as I’ve said repeatedly, it will take bipartisan cooperation to finish the job.”

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