Congress avoided a government shutdown after the House passed a bill to continue funding through December 3
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted House Democrats vote and win an infrastructure bill Thursday as the House deputy speaker cast doubt.
But Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the party's second-in-command, said the votes weren't there.
Biden has been unable to deal with moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kirsten Cenema, who want him to cut the price on a $3.5 trillion budget.
House Liberals have warned that they will not vote for the infrastructure bill if this happens.
Congress passed a standing resolution to keep government funding past a deadline that expired at midnight on Thursday -- moving one point of trouble down the road as Congress faces a series of hurdles.
The House passed the measure on Thursday afternoon, about four hours before the midnight deadline for action, and soon after, the Senate voted 65 to 35 to give it. The action now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.
The bill keeps the government opens under previous public spending levels until December 3.
The House passed the bill by 254 votes to 175. The interim statement to keep the government running was given as 34 Republicans voted in favor. All 175 "no" votes were Republicans.
But it does nothing to raise the legal debt ceiling, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warning that the government will run out of on October 18, risking a default.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi treated the passage of the nine-week funding bill as an opportunity to celebrate, even scheduling a photoshoot with fellow leaders and collectors as she signed it during the taping ceremony.
"We got some bipartisan partnership today — definitely in the Senate, some here," I yelled in front of a poster that read, "Keep government open to the people."
"It's great to think of all the things we can do working together for people," she said.
The temporary bill also includes $29 billion in disaster relief for countries hit by Hurricane Ida and other disasters. It also provides funds to resettle and support Afghans who fled their homeland during the chaotic US withdrawal at the end of the 20-year US war.
Thousands of immigrants are being held on military bases and in third countries, many of them resettled in the United States.
It maintains current funding levels for government programs over the nine-week period, which provides more time for lawmakers to try to enact spending laws and negotiate funding levels for the current fiscal year.
"That's a good result, and I'm glad we're done," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York; the last thing the American people need is government to stop.
Grand opening! (9 weeks): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, left, and House Majority Webb James Clyburn, SC, right, hold the House's ongoing resolution to continue government funding after Pelosi signs it on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, September 30, 2021
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., arrives to sign the temporary funding bill passed today to avoid a government shutdown at the Washington Capitol, Thursday, September 30, 2021. The bill prevents the government from shutting down at midnight
Signed, sealed, and delivered: After Pelosi signed the measure, he was scheduled to go to the White House to sign President Biden.
Republican senators had halted an earlier Democratic attempt to fund the government and suspended the debt ceiling to deal with a looming default deadline.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says Democrats should raise the debt limit with their votes in a potential partisan reconciliation bill restricted this week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted House Democrats would vote.
He won an infrastructure bill on Thursday as its vice president expressed doubt that the party's liberal members would give him the support he needed.
"That's the fun part," said the speaker. We're going to win the vote. I don't want to think of any other options than that. This is how it is.'
But Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the party's second-in-command, said the votes weren't there.
Asked by reporters on Capitol Hill whether the bipartisan infrastructure measure - known as BIF - would pass, he replied: "No."
However, Pelosi was in a festive mood as Joe Biden's plan was hanging by a thread due to a war within the party. The fight continues as the president has been unable to deal with moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kirsten Senema to prevent complete chaos.
The two want him to scale back an ambitious $3.5 trillion budget adjustment package that would provide free pre-kindergarten medical leave, extended paid medical leave, and a series of programs to combat climate change.
Manchin announced Thursday that its headline figure is $1.5 trillion — well below the president's figure.
He confirmed that he informed President Biden of his number and acknowledged that the deal "will take...
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