The federal government is on the brink of a shutdown as Congress scrambles to reach a temporary funding agreement before the looming deadline. The failure of a bipartisan funding package and a subsequent House GOP bill has left lawmakers in a race against time to avert a shutdown.
The bipartisan agreement, now defunct, aimed to keep the government operational through March 14, providing disaster aid, economic relief for farmers, and the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009. The GOP bill, which also failed, sought to keep the government open through mid-March, including disaster aid funding and a debt ceiling suspension.
