6-week reprieve; government shutdown averted

WASHINGTON -- The House passed a spending bill Tuesday to fund the government for six weeks, giving Congress and President Barack Obama more time to iron out differences on a $1 trillion-plus pile of unfinished budget work.

The 352-66 vote sent the measure to Obama in time to avert a government shutdown at midnight. The Senate passed the measure last week. More than 50 Republicans broke with their leadership -- Speaker John Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy -- to support the legislation. Debate lasted just minutes.

"We need to keep the doors of the government open to the American people who rely on its programs and services," said the House Appropriations Committee chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) "Furthermore, our economy cannot handle the instability that comes with the threat of a government shutdown."

The vote came after Federal Reserve Chairmain Ben Bernanke reiterated his warning to Congress that lawmakers should not cut spending sharply while the economy is weak.

The vote gives lawmakers until Nov. 18 to pass the 12 annual spending bills that lay out the day-to-day operating budgets for Cabinet agencies and departments.

Boehner of Ohio, Cantor of Virginia and McCarthy of California later met with reporters.

The GOP-controlled House, the Democratic-run Senate and the president are in agreement on an overall $1 trillion-plus budget for the government. Still, there's plenty of disagreement over which programs should be increased and which should get cut the deepest.

Republicans are pressing big cuts to foreign aid and to preserve some budget gains for the Pentagon; Democrats and Obama want more money for domestic programs like job training and heating subsidies for the poor.