Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement on a stopgap bill that will keep the government funded through the beginning of December, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Wednesday night.
"We have an agreement on the CR — the continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown — and we should be voting on that tomorrow morning," Schumer said. Government funding is set to expire at midnight Thursday, and this short-term spending bill — which includes emergency funding for natural disaster relief and Afghan refugee resettlement — will avert the shutdown of federal agencies and operations on Friday morning.
With the deadline looming, Schumer said the Senate "can approve this measure quickly, and send it to the House so it can reach the president's desk before funding expires midnight tomorrow." The stopgap bill appears to be "clean," meaning it does not include a debt limit provision, CNN reports. Congress has been warned by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that if the debt ceiling is not raised by Oct. 18, the U.S. could default on its debt, which would be catastrophic. Schumer on Wednesday said this is an "urgent matter," and while Democrats are trying to come up with a solution, "Republicans have stymied us at every opportunity."