WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives approved a bipartisan federal spending bill Friday and sent it to the Senate, just hours before a midnight deadline to fund the government. It was unclear Friday whether the Senate could pass the bill before 12:00 a.m. ET, when funding technically lapses.
The bill continues funding the federal government at current levels for three months, and provides disaster relief and farm aid.
The bill passed with significant Democratic support and votes from two-thirds of the members present, a high bar that reflected the desire in both parties to avoid a costly shutdown that could jeopardize paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal employees a few days before Christmas.
The bill has a realistic path to passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. But parliamentary procedure in the chamber gives more power to individual senators to jam up legislation.
If the bill passes the Senate in its current form, outgoing President Joe Biden is expected to quickly sign it …