March 22 (UPI) — The Senate late Friday continued to debate a $1.2 trillion government funding bill, after the House passed it earlier in the day by a 286-134 vote.
The 1,000-page legislation contains six separate funding bills and needs to pass by a looming Friday-night deadline in order to avoid a government shutdown.
Funding to several federally funded agencies is set to run out at midnight Friday if the legislation is not in place.
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island posted Friday evening on X that a shutdown was now likely, laying the blame on Republicans for suggesting amendments that the House cannot pass because it is no longer in session.
An amended bill would have to go back to the House for approval, but with the House adjourned for two weeks, such a measure would guarantee a government shutdown.
The House began debate on the spending bill at 9 a.m. EDT Friday before voting at 11 a.m., with 101 Republicans joining 184 Democrats to send the legislation to the Senate.
Given the time crunch, the vote was held under suspension of rules, ditching a requirement to first pass a rule that would face Republican opposition but placing a requirement of two-thirds support for the measure to pass.
The legislation passed despite strong criticism from some House conservatives over its spending needs.
Republican conservatives and House progressives had pushed back over a one-year hold in funding for the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees over the alleged involvement of some of its workers in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“On any bipartisan agreement you have some Democrats and some Republicans that drop off,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said prior to the vote.
The package, if approved, would keep the doors open to three-fourths of the government, including the departments of Education, Homeland Security, Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services and State.
“I’m delighted and relieved to be finally closing out fiscal year 2024,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. and the highest-ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said on the floor.
The Senate is expected to pass the legislation before the midnight deadline, allowing both chambers to recess for a two-week recess over Easter.
“We haven’t had a government shutdown since 2019,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday prior to the House vote.
“There’s no good reason for us to have one this week.”
U.S. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation if it passes through the Senate.
The package would give a boost to funding border protections that had long been supported by Republicans. Democrats were able to score a $1 billion increase in childcare and Head Start funding.
“This FY24 appropriations legislation is a serious commitment to strengthening our national defense by moving the Pentagon toward a focus on its core mission while expanding support for our brave men and women who serve in uniform,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on Thursday ahead of the vote.