AP Photo Senate easily advances bill to avoid shutdown

Congress is one step closer to dodging a government shutdown.

On a 77-19 vote Monday night, the Senate advanced a short-term spending bill that will keep federal government agencies operating through Dec. 11, defusing the latest shutdown scare powered by conservative rage against funding for Planned Parenthood — for now.


The suspense over whether the GOP-led Congress would keep the government open beyond Sept. 30 ended altogether when Speaker John Boehner announced his resignation plans last week. The stunning move ensures that the Ohio Republican would be free to rely on Democrats to pass a clean funding bill without political retribution from his conservative agitators.

Once the spending measure passes the Senate -- likely sometime Tuesday – the House will quickly take up the bill and send it to President Barack Obama, just in time to avoid a government shutdown. But the stopgap bill sets up an even bigger spending fight on Capitol Hill in December, when Democrats and Republicans will battle over a broader budget deal.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insisted from the outset that the government will not shut down on his watch, despite pressure from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other hardline conservatives to use the must-pass bill to defund the women’s health group, even at the risk of a shutdown.

But once McConnell put up a spending bill stripping money from Planned Parenthood last week, it didn’t even get a majority of the votes – allowing the Kentucky Republican to argue that a clean funding bill was the only way out.

“It doesn’t represent my first, second, third or 23rd choice when it comes to funding the government,” McConnell said Monday of the clean stopgap spending bill. “But it will keep the government open through the fall and funded at the bipartisan level already agreed to by both parties as we work on the way forward.”

Democrats again accused Republicans of brinksmanship for even flirting with a shutdown deadline.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t remind everyone that this last-minute scramble to do our most basic job is as unnecessary as it reckless,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday. “We’re two days away from a shutdown … and why? Because Republicans made it their number one priority to undermine women’s health.”