**House Passes Stopgap Funding Measure to Avert Pre-Election Government Shutdown**
**WASHINGTON** — The U.S. House of Representatives passed a short-term spending bill on Tuesday, July 21, aiming to head off a potential federal government shutdown ahead of the upcoming November midterm elections.
The stopgap measure — formally titled the *Continuing Appropriations Act* — extends federal operations through **December 4**, well past the end of the current fiscal year on September 30. Passing by a vote of **220 to 205**, the bill largely split down party lines, with six Democrats joining the Republican majority in favor and one Republican opposing.
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### Key Takeaways
* **Timeline Extension:** Keeps the federal government funded beyond the September 30 deadline, pushing potential budget showdowns into post-election December.
* **Proactive Action:** Republican leadership moved weeks ahead of the typical late-September crunch, seeking to remove shutdown rhetoric from the immediate midterm campaign path.
* **Next Stop, The Senate:** The measure now heads to the Senate, where Republican and Democratic leaders are negotiating terms to secure the necessary bipartisan backing.
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### Perspective & Reaction
> *"Our conference refuses to let obstruction trigger another manufactured shutdown at the end of September. That is why we are acting before a funding lapse crisis, not in response to it."*
> — **Rep. Tom Cole**, House Appropriations Committee Chair
* **House Leadership View:** Speaker Mike Johnson praised the passage as a responsible, proactive step to ensure essential government services continue uninterrupted while lawmakers finalize full 2027 fiscal year appropriations.
* **Democratic Opposition:** House Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro called the legislation hastily conceived, arguing that it fails to address necessary agency oversight and reforms — particularly regarding border patrol operations — before extending funding into December.
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### What Comes Next?
Congress is scheduled to enter its August recess shortly. If the Senate passes the continuing resolution before the recess or early in September, federal agencies will remain fully operational through early December, giving lawmakers time to finalize long-term funding bills after voters head to the polls.
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