The daily business briefing: October 1, 2021

Congress passes bill averting a government shutdown, stocks post worst month since March 2020, and more

U.S. Capitol
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

1. Congress approves bill to avert government shutdown

Congress on Thursday approved a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded, averting a shutdown just hours before a midnight deadline. President Biden promptly signed the legislation. The votes in the House and Senate came after Republicans blocked companion legislation seeking to raise the country's debt ceiling to prevent a potentially catastrophic default on federal debt. Democrats separated the two measures at the last minute, clearing the way for the stopgap spending bill's approval. The spending legislation keeps federal agencies funded until Dec. 3, but it leaves the question of the debt ceiling unresolved. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned lawmakers that the government will run out of ways to stave off a default by mid-October.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.