Washington (CNN) — Democrats and Republicans narrowly averted a partial shutdown of the federal government ;sat night, agreeing on a budget deal and a short-term funding extension little more than an hour before the clock struck midnight and time ran out.
The new funding extension, which cuts spending by $2 billion, will last through next Friday, April 15.
The Senate immediately passed the extension on a voice vote. The House of Representatives followed suit early this morning.
A senior White House official said President Barack Obama is expected to sign the short-term continuing resolution into law later today.
And administration and congressional officials made clear that there would be no lapses in government funding.
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“The government will be open for business,” Obama said.
“Both parties reached an agreement that will allow our small businesses to get the loans they need, our families to get the mortgages they applied for, and hundreds of thousands of Americans to show up at work and take home their paychecks on time.”
Negotiators capped days of frantic closed-door talks and public recriminations by agreeing on a framework for a package of $38.5 billion in spending cuts covering the rest of the fiscal year, which expires September 30. The budget deal still needs to pass in both houses, with the expectation that lawmakers will approve it and the president will sign it before the short-term funding measure expires.
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