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Congress says its wants to avoid a shutdown. But the House and Senate are moving even further apart.

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Congress says its wants to avoid a shutdown. But the House and Senate are moving even further apart.

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With a possible government shutdown days away, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is working to shore up support for the latest Republican plan to prevent it. (Sept. 25)Videos

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BY LISA MASCARO AND STEPHEN GROVESUpdated 7:15 PM MST, September 26, 2023Share

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congress is starkly divided over very different paths to preventing a federal shutdown — the Senate charging ahead with a bipartisan package to temporarily fund the government but the House slogging through a longshot effort with no real chance of finishing by Saturday’s deadline.

With days remaining before a federal closure, the stakes are rising with no resolution at hand.

A shutdown would furlough millions of federal employees, leave the military without pay, disrupt air travel and cut off vital safety net services, and it would be politically punishing to lawmakers whose job it is to fund government.

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President Joe Biden, who earlier this year reached a budget deal with Speaker Kevin McCarthy that became law, believes it’s up to the House Republicans to deliver.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: RELATED COVERAGE

FILE - Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leaves the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Not again. Federal workers who’ve weathered past government shutdowns brace for yet another ordeal

FILE - The Capitol is seen in Washington, Sept. 20, 2021. The federal government is heading toward a shutdown that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The federal government is headed into a shutdown. What does it mean, who’s hit and what’s next?

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., stops for reporters' questions about passing a funding bill and avoiding a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. McCarthy is trying to win support from right-wing Republicans by including spending cuts and conservative proposals for border security and immigration. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

McCarthy struggles to pass a temporary spending bill to avoid a shutdown as others look at options

“A deal is a deal,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “This is for them to fix.”

Late Tuesday, the Senate pushed ahead in sweeping bipartisan fashion to break the stalemate, advancing a temporary measure, called a continuing resolution, or CR, to keep government running through Nov. 17. It would maintain funding at current levels with a $6 billion boost for Ukraine and $6 billion for U.S. disaster relief, among other provisions.

It’s on track for Senate approval later this week but faces long odds in the House.

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