A deal to end the US government shutdown has passed the Senate, paving the way for breaking the record impasse.
After a weekend of negotiations in Washington, a minority of Democrats sided with Republicans and voted in favor of a deal.
This vote is a first procedural step towards the adoption of a compromise to finance the government since October 1, short of money.
It will need to clear several other hurdles – including a vote by the House of Representatives – before federal employees and services can return, but it is the first serious sign of progress after 40 days of stalemate.
The current shutdown is the longest on record in the United States, and until this weekend it seemed like Republican and Democratic lawmakers were at an impasse.
Many government services have been suspended since October and about 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay.
The shutdown also had broad impacts on a variety of services, including U.S. air travel and food benefits for 41 million low-income Americans.
The deal was negotiated between Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House, Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Angus King of Maine, an independent who is caucusing with Democrats.
Republicans – who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate – needed the measure to pass the minimum threshold of 60 votes.
They managed to attract eight votes from across the aisle, while only losing one from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who voted against it after saying the bill would increase the national debt.
The deal includes an agreement for a December vote on extending health care subsidies set to expire this year, a key issue on which Democrats have been waiting for concessions.
Democratic Party leaders said they would not support new funding for government operations until Congress addresses subsidies that help tens of millions of Americans pay for health insurance purchased through government-run exchanges.
“I’m grateful to be able to say that we have senators, both Democrats and Republicans, who are eager to get to work resolving this crisis in a bipartisan way,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said before the vote.
“We also have a president who is willing to sit down and work on this issue, so I look forward to seeing what solutions might be proposed.”
Thune did not specify exactly what that bill would contain, frustrating many Democrats in the House and Senate, who argued that the Democrats who negotiated the deal did so without getting enough in return.
“For months and months, Democrats have been fighting for the Senate to address the health care crisis,” said Chuck Schumer, the party’s Senate leader.
“This bill does nothing to ensure that this crisis is resolved,” he said, confirming he would vote against the deal.
Some prominent Democrats sharply criticized their colleagues who sided with Republicans in ending the lockdown without concrete health care guarantees, with California Governor Gavin Newsom calling the move “pathetic.”
The measure also includes three appropriations bills to fund agencies like Veterans Affairs and Agriculture, as well as a continuing resolution to fund the rest of the government through Jan. 30, meaning another government shutdown could be on the horizon early next year.
It also includes guarantees that all federal workers will be paid for their time during the shutdown, as well as funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) – a critical food safety net for one in eight Americans – through next September.
A vote on the deal would be just the first procedural step for the new funding deal and it would still need to be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, where it will likely face its own challenges.
