The Hill News

President Obama on Saturday signed a shot-term extension to keep the government running while Congress finalizes a longer-term agreement for the rest of the fiscal year. It will fund the government through April 15.

The bill was signed in a privately Saturday afternoon after the White House and Congressional leaders agreed to a spending deal just before midnight on Friday.

That agreement, which came after days of partisan sparring and rhetorical drama, would fund the government through the end of September and cut $78.5 billion compared to Obama's proposed but never enacted fiscal 2011 budget.

The House approved the one-week spending bill at about 12:39 a.m. Saturday morning. It cuts $2 billion from discretionary spending.

The short-term stopgap bill was approved by a 348-70 vote in which just 28 Republicans and 42 Democrats opposed passage. The Senate had approved the same language by unanimous consent less than 90 minutes earlier.