Congress averts government shutdown

Lawmakers in Washington passed a temporary spending bill Thursday night to avert a partial government shutdown. The stopgap measure punts most big issues to next year while funding the government for another four weeks. It also extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program through March. A handful of Pentagon programs get a slight boost in the bill. Many Democrats complained that even a short-term measure should have included protections for participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program that President Donald Trump is discontinuing. But Democrats stopped short of forcing a shutdown over the matter. The final vote in the House was 231-188. Hours later, the Senate signed off on the bill 66-32. Among the items left behind was $81 billion dollars worth of disaster aid, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate. That will be added to a long list of issues lawmakers will have to tackle after the holidays. Trump is expected to sign the bill later on Friday.