The stopgap measure would prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin after midnight Friday. It would kick final decisions on this budget year's spending levels to a new Republican-led Congress and to President-elect Donald Trump. The continuing resolution generally continues current spending levels for agencies.
Passage of the measure is one of the final actions that lawmakers will consider this week, before adjourning for the holidays and making way for the next Congress. It's the second short-term funding measure the lawmakers have taken up this fall as they struggled to pass the dozen annual appropriations bills before the new fiscal year began Oct. 1, as they typically do.
While text of the legislation was not yet available Tuesday, House Republican lawmakers emerged from a closed-door meeting saying that the disaster aid would come to about $100 billion, plus another $10 billion in economic assistance would be made available to farmers.
“We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
