美国国会努力避免政府关门

The United States White House spokesman Josh Earnest says it looks like Congress is taking the steps necessary to avert a government shutdown.

The announcement comes two days after the US Congress moved to rush legislation to President Barack Obama by Thursday ahead of the new fiscal year.

The US Senate began the effort by extending all previous agency funding levels until December 11th. That clears the way for the Senate to pass the spending bill by early Wednesday. It would then be sent to the House of Representatives for passage just in time to beat a midnight Wednesday deadline.

The stop-gap spending measure will buy time for negotiators to reach a longer-term budget agreement that lasts through to September 2016.