Government

CNN - Congress released a massive $1.2 trillion bill on Thursday to fund the rest of the federal government. However, it's not yet clear if lawmakers will be able to pass the legislation ahead of the midnight deadline today, raising concerns on Capitol Hill that there could be a short-term lapse in government funding over the weekend. Several critical government operations need to be funded by the end of the day, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State and the legislative branch. If a temporary lapse in funding were to occur, it would likely have only a limited impact on government operations. Top lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing to prevent another shutdown but acknowledged several challenges lie ahead.