House passes spending extension to avoid shutdown

WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives passed a short-term spending bill Tuesday evening, the first step in dodging another government shutdown. The six-week extension maintains the status quo of federal funds while including defense funding for the remainder of the fiscal year and two years of funding for the Community Health Centers program. Negotiations are ongoing to pass a long-term spending package that provides more dollars for hurricane relief and a compromise on immigration reform. House Republicans chose to try to take care of defense funding while lawmakers continue to fight over other parts of their agenda. The bill passed 245-182, mostly along party lines. It now goes over to the Senate for consideration, where most expect Democrats to strip the defense funding and send it back to the House before the shutdown deadline Thursday. “I urge the Senate Democrats to end their filibuster so we can finally provide funding for our men and women in uniform,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said after the vote. “No more games.” This is the fifth time Congress has voted on a continuing resolution this fiscal year instead of taking up a long-term budget proposal. A few weeks ago, federal funding lapsed for a weekend when lawmakers failed to pass a spending agreement ahead of their deadline.