The United States House of Representatives has passed a funding bill to bring an end to the longest government shutdown in the nation's history. The legislation, approved by 222 votes to 209, was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Wednesday night.
The bill follows a compromise brokered in the Senate, where a handful of Democrats agreed to forgo the extension of expiring healthcare subsidies, which had been at the heart of the prolonged impasse. The measure extends government funding at current levels through January and includes three-year provisions for programmes at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Departments of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration, and legislative branch operations.
The shutdown lasted 42 days, leaving hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers without pay, causing widespread flight delays, and increasing food insecurity for Americans reliant on food benefit schemes. The passage of the bill marks the end of a contentious standoff that had disrupted services across the country.
