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The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, of the R-Ky., Said that there was "zero" chance that the government will close on Oct. 1.
(AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The Senate on Wednesday approved the first of three spending programs called "minibuses" to fund most of the federal government at the start of its new fiscal year, October 1.
The $ 146 billion measure, which funds the Department of Energy, programs for veterans and the legislature, was passed 92-5. Meaning. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz .; Ed Markey, D-Mass .; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass .; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y .; and Rand Paul, R-Ky., opposed the measure.
The House should vote on the package on Thursday.
If all three compromise spending formulas were approved by both houses and signed by President Donald Trump, they would account for nearly 90% of annual spending, including military agencies and most civilian organizations. However, lawmakers will still have to draft interim legislation to fund part of the government, including the Department of Homeland Security.
Minibus bills represent a significant departure from recent years, when Congress systematically ignored the organization's own spending measures for "omnibus" packages that fund the entire government at the same time. Trump promised in March that he would not sign another bill swollen.
"The American people expect us to do our job, and if we continue to work together in a bipartisan way, we can successfully fund close to 90% of the federal government on time, which Congress has not been able to do. to be years old, said Richard Shelby, chairman of the Senate Credit Committee, R-Ala.
"This package is not perfect, but that's the nature of the compromise," added Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., The prominent member of the Appropriations panel.
The president also threatened to close the government on October 1 unless Congress spends billions of dollars to finance its promised wall along the US-Mexico border.
GOP leaders said they preferred to deal with the problem after the mid-term elections.
With Republicans leading the White House and both houses of Congress, GOP leaders feared voters would blame them for a closure, compounding the party's prospects of retaining control of Congress.
"We are still in favor of the wall, we still want to get funding for the wall, but we think the best time to have this discussion is after the elections," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R -ky. last week.
Fox News & Chad Pergram and The Associated Press reporters contributed to this report.
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