Senate Passes CR Bill to Extend Government Funding

The U.S. Senate passed a Continuing Resolution or CR on September 26 by a vote of 81-16, extend government funding through November 21. That measure – crafted in the House of Representatives and passed by a vote of 301-219 on September 19 – now awaits President Trump’s signature to take effect.

Sen. Mitch McConnell

“I’m glad the continuing resolution … earned significant bipartisan support across the Capitol and has also earned the green light from the White House,” noted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, D-Ky., in a statement prior to the CR’s passage. “And as [Senate Appropriations] Chairman [Richard] Shelby [R-Ala.] and [Appropriations Ranking Member Patrick] Leahy [D-Vt.] continue their work on regular order appropriations, I hope that the cooperation that’s surrounded this CR can carry over and that we can get the appropriations process back on track.”

Congress passed legislation in July to suspend the federal debt ceiling and set government spending levels for the next two fiscal years.

At issue now is the need to pass separate bills allocating money to specific government agencies. Where transportation is concerned, the Senate Appropriations Committee has already approved $86.6 billion in fiscal year 2020 funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation, via a vote of 31-0 on September 19 – mirroring a “minibus” funding package passed by the House of Representatives in June.

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