WASHINGTON – The U.S.
Congress approved a stop-gap funding bill on Wednesday that averts a looming
federal government shutdown and provides urgently needed money to help battle
an outbreak of the Zika virus.

Passage of the bipartisan
legislation came shortly after Republicans and Democrats ended a months-long
fight over whether Washington should provide aid to the city of Flint,
Michigan, as it struggles with a crisis over contaminated drinking water.

Separate legislation was
approved by the House of Representatives earlier in the day setting aid for
Flint. It must now be reconciled with a somewhat different bill passed by the
Senate.

The House voted 342-85 in
a late-night session on Wednesday

to approve stop-gap
funding to keep the U.S. government operating from Oct. 1, the start of the new
fiscal year, until Dec. 9, when lawmakers will attempt to approve longer-term
money.

With existing funds due
to expire on Saturday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said
the legislation “is a last resort, but at this point it is what we must do
… to keep the lights on in our government.”

The Senate voted 72-26
earlier on Wednesday to adopt the short-term spending bill.

Besides providing money
to keep the government operating, the legislation also contains $1.1 billion to
battle the Zika virus that has hit Puerto Rico hard and spread to U.S. states,
most notably Florida.

The disease can cause
severe birth defects. Funds would be used to develop a vaccine and reduce Zika
exposure.

The bill also includes
$500 million for flood relief in Louisiana and other states.

In a series of carefully
orchestrated maneuvers after the Senate approved the temporary funding, the
House passed a wide-ranging water resources bill containing $170 million to
assist Flint by a vote of 399-25.

Democrats have demanded
action on the crisis, which stems from dangerous levels of lead in Flint’s
drinking water.

A Senate version of the
bill contains $220 million for Flint and other cities with problem water
systems.

The two chambers will
have to hammer out compromise legislation after the Nov. 8 presidential and
congressional elections. Wednesday’s flurry of activity in Congress came as
lawmakers rushed to recess this week until after the elections.

Conservative groups urged
Congress to defeat the funding bill. However, with House and Senate members
facing an imminent deadline for approving new money and lawmakers eager to go
home to campaign for re-election, the measure moved quickly through Congress on
Wednesday.

The White House said it
was disappointed that the temporary funding bill continued a provision barring
the Securities and Exchange Commission from taking action to increase
transparency in public companies’ political spending.

It also expressed
disappointment that Congress failed to take steps to ensure that the
Export-Import Bank was able to fully operate its loan guarantee programs.

Nevertheless, President
Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.