Shutdown averted for now as two-week spending bill passes

The Senate and House voted Thursday to keep the federal government open until Dec. 21, averting what could have a government shutdown at midnight Saturday and the potential furlough of thousands of civilian workers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

By voice votes, the House and Senate sent a two-week spending bill to President Donald Trump to finance the operations of the government. Trump and Congress are at an impasse because of the president’s demand for billions of dollars to build a wall along the Mexican border.

Wright-Patterson is the largest single-site employer in Ohio with an estimated 27,000 military and civilian personnel. During the 2013 government shutdown, roughly 8,000 civilian workers at the base were furloughed for 16 days although they later were given back pay.

A shutdown would not impact the military personnel at the base.

Congress normally passes temporary spending bills by voice vote rather than a recorded vote.

In Other News

A well-known figure in a German far-right party tells his trial he is...

Stock market today: Wall Street poised to open with gains as corporate...

$1B clean-tech project involves building factory that will convert...

Pro-Palestinian protests sweep US college campuses following mass...

The Latest | Tent compound rises in southern Gaza as Israel prepares...

About the Author

Jack Torry