House Passes CR Extending FCC, FTC Approps Thru March 22; Other Agencies Through Next Week

The House voted 320-99 Thursday to approve a continuing resolution (HR-7463) that would extend federal appropriations for NTIA, other Commerce Department agencies, DOJ’s Antitrust Division and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service through March 8, averting a partial government shutdown that would otherwise close RUS late Friday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other congressional leaders said they reached a deal on appropriations measures covering those agencies, so the short-term extension would allow time for Congress to address individual funding measures. HR-7463 also extends appropriations for the FCC and FTC through March 22. The CR’s enactment prospects remained in doubt Thursday afternoon amid misgivings from some Senate Republicans, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hoped to hold a vote that evening.