Congress votes to avert a shutdown and keep the government funded into early March

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has sent President Joe Biden a short-term spending bill that would avert a looming partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies into March 2024. The House approved the measure by a vote of 314-108, with opposition coming mostly from the more conservative members of the Republican conference. Nevertheless, about half of Republicans joined with Democrats in passing the third stopgap spending measure in recent months. The action came a few hours after the Senate had voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill by a vote of 77-18. The bill extends current spending levels and buys time for the two chambers to work out their differences over full-year spending bills.