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Congress Averts Government Shutdown — for Now

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), center, returns to office after passage of spending bill at U.S. Capitol, Washington, Dec. 11, 2014.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), center, returns to office after passage of spending bill at U.S. Capitol, Washington, Dec. 11, 2014.
VOA News
President Barack Obama has signed a bill that provides a two-day extension of government funding and temporarily averts a partial federal government shutdown.
Both houses of Congress approved the heavily fought-over spending measure late Thursday, with just minutes to go before the midnight deadline.
The Senate now has until Saturday at midnight to approve a wider spending measure.
The Senate is expected follow the lead of the House of Representatives, which on Thursday passed the $1.1 trillion spending bill that funds the government through September 2015.
Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner warned lawmakers that if they did not pass a bill Thursday -- even a temporary measure to fund the government -- they would have to stay in Washington until Christmas (December 25).
Lawmakers from both sides and President Obama urged passage, even though conservative Republicans were angry over what was not in the bill and liberal Democrats were upset over what was there.
Conservatives said the measure does not block Obama from taking executive action on immigration.
Liberals were furious over last-minute provisions that eased regulations on big banks, saying taxpayers would be responsible for bailing out a bank that fails.