Senate passes stopgap bill

The Senate voted 86-14 Wednesday to approve a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that keeps the government funded through Saturday.

The White House has said President Obama will sign the stopgap bill, which was passed to give Congress a few more days to pass a sweeping omnibus that will fund the government for the rest of 2014.

Obama has to sign the bill by midnight to prevent a government shutdown.

{mosads}More than 25 GOP senators voted for the CR Wednesday, including all of the Senate Republican leadership team. The vote could indicate a strong show of support for the $1.1 trillion omnibus bill, when it comes up for a vote later this week.
The House passed the stopgap bill measure by voice vote on Tuesday with little debate and is poised Wednesday to approve the $1 trillion omnibus spending bill.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) and his Senate counterpart Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) negotiated the omnibus spending bill.

“As of today, the money that keeps the government operational expires,” Mikulski said ahead of the Senate vote. “I ask the Senate to pass this short-term extension because it is a technical situation. This isn’t the usual delay, drama, fiscal-cliff situation.”

Read more from The Hill.