: Congress moves to prevent government shutdown before Feb. 18 deadline

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Lawmakers are expected to act as soon as this week to head off a Feb. 18 deadline for a government shutdown, with a top House Democrat saying a short-term funding bill is in the works.

“We’re going to get something done. It’ll probably be a short-term CR and it will be this coming week to give us a little more time,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told MSNBC Sunday, referring to a continuing resolution, or stopgap budget.

Now read: Here’s how the stock market has performed in past government shutdowns

As the Hill reported, the need for such a stopgap funding measure comes as key House and Senate leaders have been swapping offers to try to come up with a bigger bill that would fund the government through Sept. 30, which is the end of the 2022 fiscal year.

It’s unclear, meanwhile, how long a continuing resolution would last.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said he expected that if there is a stopgap budget, it would be “short term,” according to the Hill.