http://thehill.com/policy/finance/226912-obama-signs-short-term-funding-measureBy Justin Sink - 12/12/14 12:58 AM EST
President Obama signed early Friday morning a short-term resolution that will keep the government funded two additional days, press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement.
The continuing resolution, which will allow the Senate time to consider the House’s $1.1 trillion funding package, passed the Senate by unanimous consent late Thursday night.
Had lawmakers not passed the stopgap measure, the federal government would have shut down for the second time in as many years.
Now the Senate will debate the full House package, which narrowly passed in a 219-206 vote that split the Democratic leadership.
While the White House and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) backed the bill, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) voted against it, citing provisions that rolled back elements of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill and increased the amount large donors could give to political parties.
The bill will fund the majority of the U.S. government through the remainder of the fiscal year, although the Department of Homeland Security is only funded through spring.
Obama and Vice President Biden personally called lawmakers to rally support for the legislation, and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough lobbied the House Democratic caucus during a meeting shortly before the vote. The administration said provisions providing support for the battles against Ebola and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — as well as uninterrupted funding for the president’s signature health care initiative and immigration executive action — made the bill worth supporting.
The bill should see an easier time in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has already signaled support.
“I'm upset with certain things in the bill. It's not perfect. But a longer-term funding is much better for our economy than a short-term one,” Reid tweeted on Thursday.
