By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center SquareAfter days of drawn-out negotiations, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a short-term government funding stopgap early Saturday. Unlike the House-passed CR, which simply freezes government funding across agencies at current levels until Dec.4, the Senate’s alternative additionally adjusts funding for certain programs through Dec. 11. It also extends some programs and grants set to run out of funding on Oct. 1, the end of fiscal 2026. Currently, not a single appropriations bill for fiscal year 2027 – which begins Oct.1 – has passed both chambers. Lawmakers usually pass at least a short-term funding stopgap to buy more time, sometimes passing multiple to cover an entire year, as they did for fiscal year 2025.