Dec. 22, 2017 — On Dec. 21, Congress approved another temporary spending bill to fund the government through Jan. 19, 2018. President Trump signed the Continuing Resolution (CR) into law on Friday, Dec. 22.
This stopgap measure allows the government to continue to operate for a few more weeks, setting up a new deadline. The House approved the bill, 231 to 188, with 14 Democrats joining a majority of Republicans. The Senate followed soon after, voting 66 to 32 to avoid a federal shutdown.
Unfortunately, while the disaster aid package — a supplemental spending bill — which was the largest in U.S. history, passed with bipartisan support in the House, it was blocked in the Senate. Conservative groups felt the package went too far while Democrats felt it was insufficient. Lawmakers plan to try again in the new year. (LA Times, 12/22/2017)
