US house approves short term spending bill

The US House of Representatives approved a Republican-spending bill, that would keep the government running through Nov. 18 and give lawmakers more time to reach agreement on the 12 unfinished funding bills needed to keep agencies running in 2012, the Washington Post reported. In an after-midnight roll call, House Republican leaders persuaded conservatives early Friday morning to support a stop-gap bill nearly identical to one they had rejected just 30 hours earlier, said the US daily. The bill passed over staunch objections from Democrats, who opposed a provision that would pair increased funding for disaster relief with a spending cut to a program that makes loans to car companies to encourage the production of energy-efficient cars. Without a resolution, the Federal Emergency Management Agency''s disaster relief fund will run out of money early next week and the rest of the government would be forced to shut down Oct. 1.