Senate passes funding bill without SAVE Act, avoiding potential shutdown

The Senate passed a short-term spending bill on Wednesday, avoiding a partial government shutdown at the end of the month and allowing lawmakers up for re-election to head home early to campaign. 

By a vote of 78 to 18, senators approved a spending bill that will keep funding steady until Dec. 20, known as a continuing resolution (CR). 

It passed in the House hours before being taken to the floor in the upper chamber, with representatives approving the spending bill 341 to 82. 

132 Republican House members voted in favor of it. The bill saw 82 votes against it, all of which were cast by Republicans.

Lawmakers avoided a partial shutdown with only days to spare, despite a GOP demand that the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act be included. Several Republicans in Congress had insisted the SAVE Act be attached to the spending bill, including some in the Senate.