House passes bill to avoid government shutdown [Video]

• The House has passed a temporary funding bill to avoid a government shutdown before the Sept. 30 deadline.
• According to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats have reached an agreement with the Trump administration regarding the funds.
• The funding reportedly includes nutritional assistance for schoolchildren and additional accountability for farm aid. 

The House has passed a temporary spending bill on Tuesday to avoid a government shutdown before the Sept. 30 deadline.

The bill, which was passed by the House in an overwhelming vote, is set to ensure government funding until December this year.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared earlier on Tuesday that she has reached a spending agreement with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the Republicans.

The bill is now waiting for approval from the Republican-held Senate.

According to Pelosi, the proposed bill would provide $8 billion for nutritional assistance for schoolchildren and families.

It would also renew the program Pandemic EBT, which provides food benefits while schools are closed. The program is set to last for a whole year and will expire at the end of September next year.

The bill contains provisions that ensure increased accountability for farm aid money, preventing funds from going to large oil companies.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had pointed out on Monday that the House Democrats’ bill lacked farm assistance funds.

The temporary spending bill is set to fund the government until Dec. 11. It aims to prevent a government shutdown — which would create chaos amid the coronavirus pandemic — before the Sept. 30 deadline.

It would also ensure funding beyond the upcoming Nov. 3 election.

Lawmakers are then set to work out a spending agreement to extend funding until the end of the next fiscal year, Sept. 20, 2021.

Avoiding the threat of a government shutdown will allow lawmakers to focus on providing more coronavirus relief. They have been criticized for failing to work on funding agreements regarding a fifth relief package amid political tensions.

Source: CNBC