House lawmakers on Thursday approved a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running through April, but the bill faces an unclear path in the Senate with a Saturday deadline looming.
Lawmakers are bolting for the exits after clearing the spending bill 326-96 in their final vote before a nearly month-long holiday recess.
GOP leaders are confident the bill will head to the president’s desk in time to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday. The Senate is expected to take up the funding bill Friday, but delays are possible because of last-minute Democratic demands to protect retirement and health funds for thousands of coal miners.
A trio of Democratic senators from the heart of coal country are threatening to hold up the bill until miners receive a “permanent” fix for both healthcare and benefit benefits. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.) warned they could keep Congress in town until Christmas.
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#BREAKING: House approves spending bill that would keep the government running through April https://t.co/DyIeScfqq4 pic.twitter.com/39p4l1gI80
— The Hill (@thehill) December 8, 2016
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