Congress Approves Funding to Keep Government Open

U.S. Senate leaders announced a bipartisan agreement Monday evening that would keep government agencies funded until Nov. 18, potentially ending a contentious dispute on how to pay for disaster funds.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved by voice vote a four-day extension of government funding, keeping federal agencies open through next Tuesday. By then, the full House will have returned to legislative session to take up a longer-term plan that would keep the government running until Nov. 18.

That seven-week plan, which represents a 1.5-percent cut from 2011 spending rates, was approved Monday by the Senate and gives Congress an extra seven weeks to work out the line-by-line details of the entire 2012 budget.

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