The Senate on Friday voted 63-36 to approve a continuing resolution that would fund the federal government through the end of April, the New York Times reported Friday.
Thomas Kaplan and Jennifer Steinhauer write the Senate passed the stopgap spending bill less than an hour prior to a possible government shutdown and after the lawmakers voted 61-38 to clear a procedural measure to advance the CR.
The House on Thursday approved the stopgap bill in a 326-96 vote.
The upper chamber’s move came after Senate Democrats dropped threats to reject the stopgap measure in order to get a yearlong extension for retired coal miners’ healthcare benefits, according to a report by Burgess Everett, Seung Min Kim and Ben Weyl for Politico.
The stopgap bill would extend for four months the health insurance of retired miners in Appalachian states, according to the report.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucy) told Politico that they will continue the fight for the retired miners’ health benefits in 2017.