Al Jazeera

By Al Jazeera Staff and News Agencies

    Senators in the United States have voted to move forward with a stopgap funding package aimed at ending the longest government shutdown in the country’s history.

    In a procedural vote on Sunday, some eight Democrats broke rank and voted in favour of advancing a Republican measure that will keep the government reopen into January 30.

    The measure would also fund some parts of the government, including food aid and the legislative branch, for the next year.

    But there was no guarantee of an extension of healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Instead, the deal struck between the centrist Democrats and the Republicans promises a vote on the issue by December.

    The subsidies have been a Democratic priority during the funding battle.

    Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said the procedural vote passed with 60 in favour and 40 against.

    “Now, this is what is called a cloture vote – a procedure by which the Senate agrees to continue the debate about the legislation and begin introducing and passing the bills aimed at ending the shutdown,” Hanna said.

    “The important thing about the cloture vote is that once it is passed, at that 60 percent majority, every subsequent vote is by a simple majority. So it would appear to be plain sailing in the Senate to pass this bill and the continuing resolution to refund the government and ending the closure,” he added.

    If the Senate eventually passes the amended bill, the package still must be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.

    The Democratic senators who voted in favour of advancing the measure include Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

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    Angus King of Maine, an independent who causes with the Democrats, also voted in favour of the measure.

    Democrats, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, also voted yes.

    Ahead of the vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said he could not “in good faith” support the proposal.

    Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said that Democrats have now “sounded the alarm” on health care.

    “We will not give up the fight,” he said.

    Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.”

    Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, also agreed, saying that in last week’s elections people voted overwhelmingly Democratic “to urge Democrats to hold firm”.

    Since the shutdown began on October 1, Democrats had voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demanded the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable under the ACA.

    Republicans, however, have maintained they are open to addressing the issue only after government funding is restored.

    The bipartisan agreement on Sunday includes bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government – food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things – for next year. All other funding would be extended until the end of January, giving legislators more than two months to finish additional spending bills.

    The deal would reinstate federal workers who had received reduction in force, or layoff, notices and reimburse states that spent their own funds to keep federal programs running during the shutdown.

    It would also protect against future reductions in force through January and guarantee federal workers would be paid once the shutdown is over.