US Senate Approves Funding Bill, Avoids Government Shutdown

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JAKARTA - The US Senate has passed a funding bill for most of the government and has been sent to the House of Representatives.

The spending package funds critical parts of the government through September 30 (the end of the fiscal year), but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will only be funded for two weeks, until February 13.

The ratification of the draft law requires 60 votes in the US Senate, while currently 71 senators voted in favor, while 29 were against.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said Republicans and Democrats had reached a consensus on government spending to prevent a new government shutdown and to get most government funding through September.

The US Senate has approved advancing a package of measures to fund the federal government before the deadline for the government shutdown, while negotiations on reforms for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency will continue, CBS News reported on Friday.