Congress passes stopgap bill to avoid government shutdown

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 12 December 2015

President Obama signed stopgap legislation Friday to keep the government open through Wednesday. Congress is still ironing out the details of the $1.1 trillion spending deal, with partisan disagreements remaining over issues like the environment, Syrian refugees, and guns, The Associated Press reports.

Legislators reportedly said that under new House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), negotiations have been less heated. Republicans will not seek to defund Planned Parenthood or undo parts of Obama's signature health care reform.

"There's a honeymoon period in here," Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) told AP. "And I think Paul's articulated very well where we want to go."

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.