Senate Sends Stopgap Spending Bill to Reagan
The Senate on Friday approved a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running while Congress completes the long-delayed appropriations agenda for fiscal 1988.
The catch-all measure, which covers all departments and agencies of government, was passed 70 to 27 and sent to President Reagan, who was expected to sign it promptly. The House passed the legislation, 270 to 138, earlier in the week.
The bill allows continued spending at present levels after the current fiscal year ends. Without it, the government would have been forced to shut down on Oct. 1, because no appropriations bill for fiscal 1988 has been approved.
Earlier Friday, the Senate approved, 87 to 7, a $15-billion appropriations bill for the Treasury Department, Postal Service, executive office of the President and other agencies. It was the first appropriations bill approved by the Senate for fiscal 1988.
The legislation, approved earlier by the House, now goes to a House-Senate conference for resolution of differences between the two versions. The Senate’s appropriations amount to $282 million less than those approved by the House.
The White House has said Reagan would veto that money bill in its current form because it exceeds his budget request by $450 million.
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