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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
March 8th at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
CNN
—
Lawmakers unveiled a $1.2 trillion government funding plan Thursday. With the shutdown deadline approaching this weekend, the government is in a high-stakes spurt to pass the bill.
It’s not yet clear whether lawmakers will be able to pass the bill before Friday’s deadline, and concerns grew on Capitol Hill over the weekend that it could lead to a short-term loss of government funding.
With the publication of over 1,000 pages of legislation; The House and Senate currently face a major time crunch in passing the bill. Many critical government services, including defense, homeland security, labor, health and human services, education, state and legislative branches, must be funded by the end of the day on Friday, March 22nd.
Leading lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed a desire to avoid a partial shutdown, but there are challenges ahead.
House Republican rules, which typically require leaders to give lawmakers 72 hours to review the text of a bill before voting, could be waived. The Senate needs the consent of all 100 senators to quickly pass a bill, but opposition from even one senator could prevent a quick vote and slow the process.
After months of avoiding an eleventh-hour shutdown with stopgap legislation, Congress in early March passed a package of six bills to fund government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year. .
Congress is now on the verge of completing its annual spending package if it can pass this latest government funding bill.
Even if there is a temporary shortfall in federal funding, the impact on government operations is likely to be limited if funding is restored by the end of the week.
This story has been interrupted and will be updated.
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