Congress passes bill to avert Homeland Security shutdown
The US Congress has approved a short-term spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), averting a partial shutdown of the agency hours before it was slated to begin.
The Senate voted 68-31 on Friday to approve the funding legislation without the contentious immigration provisions. In the House of Representatives, the bill was approved easily by a vote of 240-183.
The bill leaves intact President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration that Republicans have vowed to overturn.
"It's the best solution that we have available to us right now," said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark. "Nobody wants to shut down the Department of Homeland Security."
The bill would extend current funding levels for the department until March 19. Funding for the DHS was set to expire at midnight Friday.
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who has been lobbying lawmakers daily in the US Capitol to fund his department, appealed to congressional leaders Thursday to pass a full-year bill, not a temporary measure.
"A short-term continuing resolution exacerbates the uncertainty for my workforce and puts us back in the same position, on the brink of a shutdown just days from now," Johnson said.
AHT/HRJ
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