Senators reach temporary deal on budget

The Guardian -   Senators have reached a deal to advance a major package of spending bills to avert a partial government shutdown that was to begin on Saturday.

The office of Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat, confirmed the deal calls for splitting a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from a package of other funding bills, and that it would fund DHS for two weeks at its current levels.

If implemented successfully, the deal would avert a partial shutdown that would have affected many of the government’s functions. However, it would not stop a temporary lapse in funding for DHS, because any changes to the DHS funding bill would have to be approved by the House of Representatives, which is out of session until Monday. The impact of such a lapse was not immediately clear.