by The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday are to extend temporary funding of the federal government for two more weeks, and thus avert a shutdown of government operations. The Senate is slated to follow suit on Friday, when the funding is due to expire. The House vote was 239 to 178, with only two Republicans voting in favor of the extension.The fiscal year began on the first of October, but the government has been operating on last year’s budget due to Congress’s failure to pass the twelve bills needed to fund the federal government.The vote has retained temporary funding for national parks, aircraft carriers, and other salient features of the federal government, but many new grants and programs will remain on hold until the annual budget is passed.
