Democrats vote to fund US govt

WASHINGTON: US lawmakers voted on Wednesday to keep federal agencies running through December 3 and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month -- although the stop-gap measure is likely dead on arrival in the Senate.

The House Democrats’ interim bill, known as a "continuing resolution," includes a suspension of the US debt limit until after next year’s midterm elections -- a measure that allows the United States to avoid defaulting on its loans and sending the global economy into meltdown.

But Senate Republicans argue that Democratic spending is out of control and have vowed to vote against any attempt to lift the borrowing cap -- insisting that the Democrats have enough lawmakers to pass the initiative on their own. Not a single Republican voted for the continuing resolution, which passed 220 to 211, along party lines.