House passes bill to hold-off government shutdown
The House of Representatives has signed off on a short term spending bill that will keep the government running through December 11th. Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi, Alexis Christoforous, and Jessica Smith discuss.
Video Transcript
ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Stocks are also getting a bit of a lift today by news that the House has signed off on a short-term spending bill that will keep the government running at least through December 11. The deal was reached after the two sides agreed on additional food assistance and aid for farmers. Now all eyes are on the Senate to see if it goes along. Our Jessica Smith has the details.
JESSICA SMITH: The chances of a government shutdown are much, much lower this morning after the House passed a short-term spending bill to fund the government through December 11. Just hours before the vote yesterday evening, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, came to a deal on farm aid and food assistance. And then the House passed the bill with an overwhelming majority. It passed 359 to 57.
Now there was a battle brewing over farm aid. It's a top priority for Republicans, but it was missing from the Democrats first proposal. In a statement yesterday, Speaker Pelosi says as part of this deal, farm funds will no longer be able to be misused for what she calls a big oil bailout. It also includes about $8 billion for nutrition assistance.
Now this bill will head to the Republican Senate, and if approved, it will head to the president's desk. Government funding expires on September 30, but there's no real appetite for a government shutdown in the midst of a pandemic and right before the election. But this is just a short-term solution. The bill extends government funding at current levels until December 11. So lawmakers will have to deal with this issue again later this year. And while Mnuchin and Pelosi were able to come to an agreement on government funding, there is still no sign of progress on stimulus talks.
