<p>President Donald Trump signed Thursday a spending bill that averts a government shutdown and extends funding weeks beyond the November 3 presidential election, after Democrats reached a deal with the White House and Republicans.</p>.<p>The bipartisan text easily cleared the Senate Wednesday by 84 votes to 10 a week after it passed the House of Representatives.</p>.<p>It then went to Trump, who signed the so-called Continuing Resolution in the wee hours of Thursday, White House spokesman Judd Deere said.</p>.<p>Trump needed to sign the stop-gap measure by 11:59 pm Wednesday to avoid a partial government shutdown, as fiscal year 2021 technically begins on October 1.</p>.<p>He signed shortly after midnight, after returning from campaign stops, so technically there was in fact a mini-shutdown.</p>.<p>The short-term legislation keeps government federal agencies operating at current funding levels until December 11, easing pressure on Congress -- and presidential candidates Trump and Democrat Joe Biden -- to address the issue during a heated election.</p>.<p>The measure adds nearly $8 billion in desperately needed nutrition assistance for children and families, and extends funding for community health centers to continue to address Covid-19 and health disparities.</p>.<p>Last week on the day the measure cleared the House, the United States surpassed the grim milestone of 200,000 coronavirus-related deaths.</p>.<p>Separate from the federal budget, lawmakers are in the middle of negotiating a much-needed, trillion-dollar-plus relief package for thousands of communities and millions of families suffering during the pandemic.</p>.<p>Congress, which is deeply divided along party lines, would not likely have been able to reach a broader agreement on a new 2021 budget before the end of the fiscal year.</p>.<p>"I hope members of Congress can come back to the negotiating table in the coming weeks and work in a spirit of cooperation to pass a comprehensive funding bill," Senate Republican Roger Wicker said.</p>.<p>"A continuing resolution is no substitute for a full appropriations package," he added.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump signed Thursday a spending bill that averts a government shutdown and extends funding weeks beyond the November 3 presidential election, after Democrats reached a deal with the White House and Republicans.</p>.<p>The bipartisan text easily cleared the Senate Wednesday by 84 votes to 10 a week after it passed the House of Representatives.</p>.<p>It then went to Trump, who signed the so-called Continuing Resolution in the wee hours of Thursday, White House spokesman Judd Deere said.</p>.<p>Trump needed to sign the stop-gap measure by 11:59 pm Wednesday to avoid a partial government shutdown, as fiscal year 2021 technically begins on October 1.</p>.<p>He signed shortly after midnight, after returning from campaign stops, so technically there was in fact a mini-shutdown.</p>.<p>The short-term legislation keeps government federal agencies operating at current funding levels until December 11, easing pressure on Congress -- and presidential candidates Trump and Democrat Joe Biden -- to address the issue during a heated election.</p>.<p>The measure adds nearly $8 billion in desperately needed nutrition assistance for children and families, and extends funding for community health centers to continue to address Covid-19 and health disparities.</p>.<p>Last week on the day the measure cleared the House, the United States surpassed the grim milestone of 200,000 coronavirus-related deaths.</p>.<p>Separate from the federal budget, lawmakers are in the middle of negotiating a much-needed, trillion-dollar-plus relief package for thousands of communities and millions of families suffering during the pandemic.</p>.<p>Congress, which is deeply divided along party lines, would not likely have been able to reach a broader agreement on a new 2021 budget before the end of the fiscal year.</p>.<p>"I hope members of Congress can come back to the negotiating table in the coming weeks and work in a spirit of cooperation to pass a comprehensive funding bill," Senate Republican Roger Wicker said.</p>.<p>"A continuing resolution is no substitute for a full appropriations package," he added.</p>