House Democrats and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have reached a deal on stopgap spending to avoid government shutdown Tuesday night.

Mnuchin and Pelosi
(Photo : Reutersconnect)

The stopgap bill will be able to fund the government with a continuing resolution through December 11. It will also avoid a government shutdown.

There could be a government shutdown by October 1 if the bill is not passed.

House Democrats tweaked the stopgap bill to include farm aid ahead of the potential vote on Tuesday evening, said a Fox Business report.

It was something Senate Republicans balked at with the original House bill, which was introduced on Monday.

The first bill did not replenish funds for the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The CCC ensures continued farm aid payments.

Democratic leaders first planned to vote on Tuesday afternoon despite a lack of support from the GOP. This could have led to a partisan showdown as the current funding is about to expire at the end of the month.

In the end, both parties resumed negotiations and agreed on a bill that addressed both farm aid and nutrition assistance.

Members of the Senate will likely vote on the measure by the end of the week, as said in an ABC News Go report. It is easily expected to pass there.

Then, it can head to President Donald Trump's desk for signing.

Farm Aid in the Stopgap Bill

In their push to include farm aid, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the original bill had a message to farmers: "drop dead." Democrats from farm-country also pushed Pelosi to include the funding in the bill.

In a statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Democrats have agreed to the nearly $8 billion in nutrition assistance for low-income families and children. It was four times what they first asked for, said Politico.

It was part of an exchange for aid for farmers sought by the White House, said The Hill.

Farmers suffer from low commodity prices. They also see the effects of higher tariffs.

Democrats said earlier that including farm aid in the spending bill amounts to a "political slush fund" and softens the current trade policies' blow.

Expanding Coronavirus Relief

The bill expands an expiring program created by a COVID-19 relief law that was in place earlier this year.

It had a year-long extension of a program that lets families with school-aged children to buy groceries during the pandemic. It also gives low-income children who usually get free or reduced school lunches with meals.

Pelosi added that the farm aid also includes some guardrails to ensure that money doesn't bail out oil refiners. Trump also said earlier this week that funds wouldn't flow to the oil industry.

The bill will also give states another year to continue being flexible for requirements for food stamps.

Early this month, both Mnuchin and Pelosi had an 'informal deal' to avoid a government shutdown. Back then, there were no specifics.

But it was clear that both parties did not want to have a government shutdown.

Given the nearness of the November elections, both Democrats and Republicans are strongly incentivized to avoid a government shutdown.

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