Obama signs funding bill averting government shutdown — for now

Erin Kelly | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Obama on shutdown end: Celebrate where we can Only hours before the midnight deadline, Congress voted to fund the government through Dec. 11 and avert a shutdown. President Obama spoke about what this latest vote means.

WASHINGTON — Congress voted Wednesday to fund the government through Dec. 11 and avert a shutdown at midnight.

Lawmakers now have about 10 weeks to negotiate a longer-term budget solution to prevent another potential shutdown crisis in December.

"As we go forward, we'll have some difficult choices to make," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Let us take heed of the words of Pope Francis, who urged us to work together for the good of the people."

President Obama signed the bill into law Wednesday night before the midnight deadline. The 2016 fiscal year begins Thursday, and federal agencies would have had to furlough thousands of government workers if Congress had not reached agreement on a funding bill.

The last government shutdown, which went on for 16 days in 2013, cost the U.S. economy about $24 billion, according to Standard & Poor's financial services company.

Senators acted first on Wednesday, voting 78-20 to approve the bill, which does not contain a controversial provision to strip funding from Planned Parenthood. The push by Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood had threatened to lead to a government shutdown, but GOP leaders decided to remove the measure from the bill after it became clear that Senate Democrats would continue to block it.

"The bill before us would keep the government open and allow time for cooler heads to prevail," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The legislation simply extends current funding levels for government agencies and adds $700 million for fighting wildfires.

The House voted 277-151 for the funding bill. House members also passed a separate resolution to defund Planned Parenthood. However, that measure, approved by a vote of 241-185, was largely symbolic since it will not be taken up by the Senate.

The battle over the divisive Planned Parenthood issue helped spur the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner, who was under fire from the right wing of his caucus to risk a shutdown rather than fund the nation's largest abortion provider. The Ohio Republican announced Friday that he will leave Congress on Oct. 30.

Boehner's decision made an immediate government shutdown less likely since the speaker no longer feels any need to appease GOP rebels. However, Boehner's departure leaves the next speaker to face another potential shutdown in December, when the temporary funding bill expires.

"That means within the coming weeks we will again be negotiating with Republicans to avoid another shutdown," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Our constituents don't want every simple legislative task to turn into a doomsday clock."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., appears to be the leading candidate to become the next speaker. Boehner on Wednesday set the leadership elections for Oct. 8.

Congressional leaders plan to meet with President Obama to try to set federal budget levels for 2016 and 2017 and prevent another shutdown.

McConnell told reporters Tuesday that he and Boehner have discussed the budget talks with Obama and expect them to begin "very soon."

Obama gave a backhanded compliment to congressional Republicans for "barely" avoiding the second government shutdown in two years.

"That's a somewhat low bar, but we should celebrate where we can," the president told a group of Democratic legislators gathered at the White House complex Wednesday.

The votes to keep the government open "demonstrate to the American people that Congress actually can govern," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.

Contributing: David Jackson