WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed another stopgap funding bill to extend government funding to avert a partial shutdown, ahead of a Friday deadline.

 

The vote was 320 to 99, with 97 Republicans voting against it.

 

On Wednesday, congressional leaders announced that the Democratic and Republican parties have agreed to fund certain government sectors and have decided to prolong the existing deadlines of March 1 and March 8 until March 8 and March 22, buying Congress more time to craft annual spending bills.

 

Following approval at the House, the bill will move forward to the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the upper chamber, expressed his desire for the bill to pass through the Senate possibly as early as Thursday night.

 

This is the fourth time Congress has approved stopgap funding bill to keep government running to buy lawmakers more time to finish the formal appropriations process for fiscal year 2024, which began on Oct. 1, 2023.

 

Congress previously approved stopgap funding measures in September 2023, November 2023, and January 2024.