Senate Passes Stop-Gap Funding Through February

The Senate passed a stop-gap funding bill on Thursday night, averting a government shutdown.

The Senate passed H.R. 6119 with 69 votes in favor and 28 against, crossing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. H.R. 6119 is a continuing resolution (CR), a spending bill that would keep government funding levels the same, although it grants $7 billion in funding for the resettlement of Afghan refugees.

The vote on the CR follows as the Senate shot down an amendment proposed by Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) that would have defunded President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates. The amendment failed after Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) voted against it, although Manchin had teased this afternoon that he may vote for the amendment.

“I’ve been very supportive of a mandate for federal government, for military… I’ve been less enthused about it in the private sector,” the West Virginia Democrat said.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WVa., talks to reporters as he leaves the chamber after a vote, at the Capitol in Washington, on Nov. 3, 2021. Democrats have finally driven President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion package of family services, health care and climate initiatives through the House. Now the focus turns to the Senate, where painful Republican amendments, restrictive rules and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin lurk (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The CR would fund the federal government through February 18, which serves as a minor victory for Republicans, as the GOP wanted more time to negotiate a longer-term spending bill. Democrats wanted a spending bill to fund the government through January.

The House earlier passed the legislation on mostly party lines; Democrats overwhelmingly voted for the bill, and only one Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), voted for the bill.

The CR goes to Biden’s desk to sign, averting a government shutdown one day ahead of the December 3 deadline. Now, Congress will have to pass a bill to raise the debt ceiling and pass the National Defense Authorization Act.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

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