- The House of Representatives advanced a stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown on Wednesday.
- The bill includes $88 million for security following conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk's killing.
- House Republicans hope to send the bill to the Senate by Friday.
WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday cleared the way for a vote later this week on a stopgap funding measure to avert a partial federal government shutdown in two weeks.
Lawmakers voted 216-210 to approve a measure allowing the House to open debate on the stopgap legislation, which would provide funding for federal agencies through Nov. 21, giving the House and Senate additional time to reach agreement on full-scale appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026, which begins on Oct. 1.
The stopgap, known as a continuing resolution or "CR," also includes $88 million to bolster security for members of Congress, the Supreme Court and the executive branch following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
House Republicans hope to pass the resolution by Friday and send it on to the Senate, which would also need to approve the measure before Republican President Donald Trump could sign it into law.
The White House issued a policy statement backing the resolution, which Democrats have rejected as a partisan Republican bill.
Late on Wednesday, Democrats unveiled their own legislation to keep the government open through Oct. 31. It would also restore funding to the Medicaid healthcare program for lower-income Americans that was eliminated by Trump's tax cut bill and would permanently extend healthcare tax credits under the Affordable Care Act.
The Democratic proposal is unlikely ever to become law.
But Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that it could provide the basis for a bipartisan compromise.
"We have two weeks. They should sit down and talk to us, and we maybe can get a good proposal. Let's see," Schumer said.
"The contrast between the Democratic budget proposal and the Republican proposal is glaring. The Republicans want the same old status quo: rising costs, declining healthcare. Democrats want to meet people's needs by improving healthcare and lowering costs," the New York Democrat said.
Republicans hold a 53-seat Senate majority but will need 60 votes to pass a stopgap measure before Oct. 1. That would require support from at least seven Democrats.
"I don't think Democrats are going to get very far with this one," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a Senate speech before Democrats released their proposal.
The annual funding debate covers only about one-quarter of the federal government's $7 trillion budget, which also includes mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare, as well as payments on the nation's $37.5 trillion debt.
Contributing: Nolan McCaskill and Katharine Jackson
