Senate Advances Funding Bill to Avoid Shutdown

The U.S. Senate voted on Aug. 3 to advance a stopgap funding bill that would keep the federal government funded through Dec. 11.

The Senate voted 89–4 to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to HR 6500, which serves as the legislative vehicle for a continuing resolution.

“It is a strong, bipartisan piece of legislation, and I hope it will receive overwhelming support from both parties in the Senate,” Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told the Senate floor.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) were the only senators who voted no.

The leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier announced they had reached an agreement on the text of the stopgap funding bill.

The measure would keep the government funded at current levels through Dec. 11, giving Congress more time to negotiate full-year spending bills before the current fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

This is a developing story that will be updated.