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WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a revised stopgap funding bill to move toward ending the shutdown on Monday, sending the legislation back to the House for consideration as lawmakers in the lower chamber return to the nation’s capital.
All Republican senators — except for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — and eight Democratic or Dem-aligned senators approved the stopgap measure, which would fund the government until Jan. 30, 2026, helping it clear the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate.
The measure also included funding until Sept. 30, 2026, for the 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) as well as veterans’ medical care and benefits, military construction and spending for legislative branch activities.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday urged reps to reconvene immediately, with a vote expected 36 hours after the so-called “clean” continuing resolution passed the Senate.
It left the lower chamber after being approved by a narrow majority on Sept. 19.
But 40 Democrats — including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — opposed it after having initially forced the shutdown on Oct. 1 with five of their colleagues who later defected to vote with the GOP.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) voted with Republicans to end the shutdown — despite having maintained it for 40 days.
One of the few concessions the Senate Democrats got in return after the longest shutdown in US history was a promise to vote on an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, something Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had offered weeks ago.
President Trump also pledged Monday to “abide by” a provision requiring him to re-hire federal workers fired during the shutdown.
Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Va.) and Angus King (I-Maine) had voted for the funding bill no fewer than 14 times before the other five Democrats helped them break the filibuster on Sunday.
King admitted bluntly in an interview that “standing up to Trump didn’t work.”
On Monday night, the Senate convened to debate other amendments to the legislation — including the full-year appropriations bills and an amendment brought by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to reverse a ban of “intoxicating” hemp products.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) also sought an amendment extending the Obamacare subsidies, which had been expanded under former President Joe Biden, for one year. The credits are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Johnson has made no promise that they will get a vote in the House even if they pass in the Senate.
Should the House pass the bill, as it is, SNAP and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will also have contingency reserves reimbursed for spending amid the shutdown — and both furloughed and non-furloughed federal workers will get backpay.
That includes thousands of air traffic controllers and others who had been overworked during the shutdown, leading to a reduction in flight volumes to reduce the cascading delays and cancellations for passengers.
Some national security wins touted by Senate Republicans in the funding bill include spending to help the Food and Drug Administration crack down on the illicit sale of Chinese e-cigarettes, banning the purchase of Chinese-made drones by the US Capitol Police from Huawei or ZTE Corporation
There will also be $4.1 billion set aside for rural infrastructure, housing, and business development, as well as a whopping $19.7 billion for a full-year of funding on 300 military construction projects.
