The House approved its fifth short-term spending extension Tuesday evening to avert another government shutdown, but congressional leaders said they were also nearing a two-year spending agreement that would raise budget caps to allow for big increases in defense and domestic spending. Without a short-term spending bill, funding for the government will end at midnight Thursday. The House-passed bill provides a full-year of funding for defense and money for other government programs through March 23. The Senate is likely to amend the funding bill and then send it back, requiring another House vote to approve the revised legislation. But a broader two-year spending plan could pave the way for the defense increases Republicans are demanding and the domestic spending increases Democrats want in exchange.
