(Reuters) – The United States House of Representatives approved this Tuesday, by a small margin of votes, a bipartisan agreement that should end the partial shutdown of the American government and sent it to President Donald Trump for sanction.
The legislation is expected to restore expired funding for defense, health care, labor, education, housing and other agencies, and temporarily extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security while lawmakers negotiate potential changes to immigration enforcement.
Funding for these agencies expired on Saturday as Congress did not act in time to prevent the shutdown, which did not result in major disruptions to government services.
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The agreement had already been approved by the Senate by a wide bipartisan margin and now goes to Trump, who is expected to sign it into law.
Controlled by Republicans, the House approved the proposal by 217 votes to 214, with 21 Republicans voting against and 21 Democrats voting in favor.
Democrats are demanding new restrictions on Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics following the killing of two US citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
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Some Republicans on the right wing of the party tried unsuccessfully to modify the bill to include a provision that would tighten voting requirements.
The last shutdown lasted a record 43 days in October and November, furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal employees and costing the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion.
