The bill needs to be passed to avoid a shutdown.

The United States government is currently on the precipice of a shutdown. Funding for the government needs to be secured by the end of the day today, or else it will shut down, leaving federal employees without pay and numerous important government-funded endeavors up in the air. However, a stopgap funding bill has been brought to the table of Congress, where they are slated to vote on it later today.

Senate gears up to pass stopgap funding bill averting government shutdown https://t.co/Sv02leYjNX

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 30, 2021

This bill, if passed, will provide a funding plan to keep the government up and running until at least December 3, as well as allocate funds for hurricane disaster relief and Afghan refugee resettlement. Both sides of the political spectrum seem to be in support of the bill in its current incarnation.

“I’m confident the House will approve this measure later this afternoon and send it to the president’s desk before funding runs out,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “This is a good outcome, one I’m happy we are getting done.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says a government funding deal will go through and a shutdown will be avoided. pic.twitter.com/qAH3CMIjBf

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 30, 2021

The reason the matter has come down to the wire like this is that a previous version of the bill opted for a temporary suspension of the debt ceiling, which the United States is close to exceeding. Should the country exceed the debt ceiling, it would default on all of its debts, which would bring heavy economic consequences. Unfortunately, the Republican senators refused to sign any bill any bill related to the debt ceiling, so the matter is being postponed for the time being.