Senate Votes to Fund DoD, HHS, Labor and Education, Stave Off Shutdown

The Senate on Tuesday approved H.R. 6157, a minibus funding bill which provides full-year FY 2019 funding to the departments of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and provides a continuing resolution for short term funding for the entire Federal government until December. The bill, which passed the Senate on a 93-7 vote, provides $674.4 billion for DoD, an increase of $19.8 billion. “This conference report contains critical funding for defense and domestic priorities,” said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. “For the first time in a decade, we are sending a Defense spending bill to the President’s desk on time,” he said. The continuing resolution would keep the Federal government fully funded until December 7, pushing the deadline back from September 30. The House still has to approve the measure.