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House Passes Bill To Keep Government Open

The House has passed a temporary government-wide funding bill that would avert a government shutdown this weekend.

The measure still faces iffy prospects in the Senate, where Democrats are poised to block it in hopes of spurring slow-moving talks on immigration.

Rep. Richard Neal (D-Massachusetts), who is a ranking member on the House Ways and Means committee, says he thinks that in the House “the threat to bring about a government shutdown was superseded by the fact that many in the House thought they would be blamed for it.” Neal says he thinks in the Senate, that same factor means “there's probably an incentive to try to find a common agreement.”

The measure would keep the government running through Feb. 16. The government faces a partial shutdown at midnight Friday, an outcome both sides say they want to avoid but one that seems increasingly possible.

The 230-197 vote came after an influential bloc of House conservatives won promises of future action on separate legislation to bolster the military and tighten immigration laws. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows announced the group's support after talks with House GOP leaders and President Donald Trump.

Neal said on Thursday he wasn’t surprised by that.

“I think that there have been a series of these votes where the Freedom Caucus on the Republican side threatened mutiny, only to be assuaged by the Republican leadership, and then by the president as was the case again today,” Neal said.

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