US senate reaches deal to avert government shut down

The US senate reached a bipartisan deal on a stopgap spending arrangement to avoid a government shutdown and avert a wrangle over aid to victims of hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters.

The legislation was approved by senators yesterday, 79-12, to finance the government through 18 November, a measure that provides $2.65 billion by way of federal disaster assistance.

The 2011 fiscal year comes to an end 30 September, the house can therefore approve the short-term bill by unanimous consent without bringing members back to Washington.

''We expect speedy passage of this agreement by the House so that the flow of disaster aid is not interrupted,'' New York senator Charles Schumer, the chamber's third-ranking Democrat, told reporters after the votes. ''It is hard to see how the House Republicans could reject this proposal given the overwhelming'' support it got in the senate.

The senate deal broke a logjam over the insistence by house Republicans on cuts to other programmes to offset $1 billion, the Obama administration sought to shore up the disaster-relief fund.

That issue came to the fore with the Federal Emergency Management Agency saying yesterday that it had enough funds to help disaster victims this week, according to Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Schumer, after earlier having said that it would be left with no money as early as yesterday or today.