then Add to Home Screen.
After 43 days of gridlock, Congress is poised to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The House returns to Washington today for a late-afternoon vote on a bipartisan funding package that would reopen federal agencies and restore normal operations.
The measure, negotiated by a group of Senate Democratic centrists and GOP leaders, provides funding for military construction, veterans’ affairs, agriculture, and the legislative branch through next fall. All other government operations would be funded through Jan. 30. The Senate approved the bill Monday, and House leaders have given members just 36 hours’ notice to return—shorter than the usual 48-hour window.
The House vote is largely expected to fall along party lines, with Democrats fuming over their Senate colleagues' inability to secure what has been their key sticking point throughout the shutdown — the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies.
The shutdown’s impact has been severe: nationwide flight delays, suspended food assistance, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed or working without pay. Transportation officials warn that even after the bill is signed by President Trump, it could take days to restore normal flight schedules due to staffing shortages.
If the House approves the measure today, the bill will head to the president’s desk for signature, marking the end of a shutdown that has tested Washington’s ability to govern and strained millions of Americans.
—By Michael Metz
