By a tally of 65 to 27, the U.S. Senate approved a continuing resolution (H.R. 6617) that will fund the federal government through March 11. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the continuing resolution or CR for short, and President Joe Biden signed it into law. Without the passage of this continuing resolution, parts of the federal government would have shut down last Friday. Lawmakers are also working to lock in a broader full-year spending package, but have said they need more time to finish and, as a result, needed a short-term funding extension to avert a shutdown. Historically, federal government shutdowns have caused delays in payments from federal agencies to nonprofits and disruptions in the delivery of federal benefits.