1st LD: U.S. House passes short-term spending bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through late March.

In a vote of 245-182, the House passed a temporary spending bill to extend most government spending at current levels through March 23 while providing more funds for the Pentagon through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

However, Senate leaders from both Republican and Democratic parties are discussing a two-year deal to lift spending caps on defense and domestic programs, which suggests that they would probably not support the House-version spending bill.

The U.S. federal government is running on a short-term spending bill which expire Feb. 8. Lawmakers need to work out a spending measure before Thursday to prevent a government shutdown. Enditem