Congress Passes Bill to Avert Shutdown in Bipartisan Vote

Senate Republicans joined with Democrats on Sept. 30 to pass stopgap legislation to fund the government through December, averting a government shutdown set to begin in the early hours of Oct. 1. The House later aligned with the Senate, voting 254–175 to avert a government shutdown. However, the measure fails to address the debt ceiling, which Republicans have said they won’t vote to raise. On Sept. 27, Republicans showed solidarity against a bill that would have raised the debt ceiling, voting 50–49 to block debate on the bill. The legislation would have put forward billions in new spending for ongoing…