Congress passes funding bill to avoid October shutdown, pushing fight past midterms

September 1, 2026 / 2:07 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — The House on Tuesday passed a measure to extend government funding into December, averting a shutdown in the final stretch of the campaign ahead of the November midterm elections.

The Senate approved the short-term bipartisan funding bill in early August before its five-week recess, but the House was already on its lengthy summer break. The House, which returned Monday, passed the measure in a 370 to 48 vote after GOP leaders fast-tracked the bill, requiring two-thirds majority support for passage.

Funding is now set to expire on Dec. 11, more than a month after the midterm elections, when the balance of power in the House and Senate for the next two years will be decided.

Since April, the House Appropriations Committee has advanced all 12 annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government. Three have been approved by the full House. The process has stalled in the Senate, where none of the funding measures have made it out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"We want to get a longer-term deal, but at a minimum, let's ensure that we can continue to see government properly funded and functioning," House…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/