Senate passes short-term spending bill to avoid government shutdown

December 21, 2017 7:15pm EST

JUST IN: Senate passes short-term spending bill to avoid government shutdown

From CNN's Ashley Killough

In one of the final acts of 2017, the Senate approved a short-term spending measure Thursday night to keep federal agencies operating through Jan. 19, avoiding a government shutdown ahead of a Friday deadline.

The vote was 66-32.

Along with funding the government for nearly a month, the bill also extends funding for the children’s health insurance program through March and includes a three-week extension of a government surveillance program.

The Senate's vote comes hours after the House also approved the deal.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/21/politi...est/index.html

Good!

UPDATE

The House also passed an $81 billion disaster aid bill in the wake of this year's devastating hurricanes and wildfires.
The bill includes additional money for hurricane recovery in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, along with fires that affected California.
It passed the House 251-169, but it's not expected to be taken up in the Senate until after the new year...