House passes bill to avert government shutdown

The House voted along party lines on Tuesday night to fund the government until early December and suspend the federal debt limit through 2022. The bill now heads to the Senate, where some Republicans have already said they oppose the measure.

The bill was passed with a vote of 220-211, and also provides disaster relief and aid for refugees. The end of the fiscal year is Sept. 30, and there won't be any funding for the government on Oct. 1 unless a measure is passed; under the package approved by the House, stopgap money will keep the government going through Dec. 3 and borrowing authority will be extended until the end of next year. Prior to the vote, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the country will "suffer greatly if we do not act now to stave off this unnecessary and preventable crisis."

If borrowing limits are not waived or adjusted by the end of October, the U.S. risks defaulting on its debt load, and this "economic scenario is cataclysmic," Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, told The Associated Press.

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