The Senate took a baby step Monday toward passing a funding extension that would head off a partial government shutdown this fall.

On a lopsided vote of 89-4, the Senate agreed to limit debate on taking up a legislative vehicle for a bipartisan stopgap measure unveiled over the weekend to extend current funding through Dec. 11.

With leaders of both parties on board, the Senate is hoping to pass the bill quickly before departing for its August recess. “I look forward to passing this bill in the next few days,” said Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill provides a “responsible pathway” that “allows us to continue negotiating a budget that won’t leave working families behind.”

Both chambers are getting an unusually early start for a funding patch that won’t be needed until the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. The House passed a more bare-bones version on July 21 before leaving town for its own recess.

Thune told reporters Monday that the early jump-start would help provide more certainty on funding after a series of funding lapses seen in the past year. “Unfortunately, I think after two government shutdowns that have extended for a long period of time, it’s better for everybody if there’s predictability, certainty, and just to take that issue off the table,” he said.

But the disparate funding plans offered by the two chambers means a final bill still won’t get passed until Congress reconvenes in September.

If the House is willing to rubber-stamp the broader Senate bill, it could become law fairly quickly once the House is back in session. But it could also require more time if the House opposes any Senate provisions or new, urgent priorities crop up over the long recess that lawmakers want to address in the must-pass bill.

Disaster aid excluded

The bill would provide many of the “anomalies” requested by the Trump administration, including an acceleration of funding for Navy shipbuilding, along with add-ons to support preparations for the 2028 Olympics and housing assistance, among other items.

But senators rebuffed the White House on a few big-ticket items, including $1 billion in advance procurement funding for a new Trump-class battleship.

The bill also doesn’t include the White House’s request for $1.1 billion for water infrastructure projects in North Carolina that are needed to rebuild from damage caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

But Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he still intended to support the funding extension without the water infrastructure money, pinning his hopes on passing a bipartisan supplemental package for disaster relief later in the year.

“We’ve gotten funds released,” Tillis said of needed disaster aid. “We’re still in arrears, and I’ve made that very clear. But I think that with the next disaster supplemental, we’ll be able to catch up.”

The stopgap bill also reflected a bipartisan agreement to temporarily delay a new rule proposed by the White House budget office that would give political appointees greater influence over the federal grant approval process.

That rule has drawn pushback from members on both sides of the aisle, though Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democratic appropriator, said Sunday that Republicans “rejected killing the proposed rule outright.”

The bill also includes a basic funding extension for the nation’s surface transportation programs through Dec. 11. Lawmakers are continuing to work toward a full reauthorization bill, but a House measure has been stalled since May, while the Senate has yet to release its own version. Some committees, however, have said they’re working on a deal.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement Sunday that the Senate bill text is “a clear improvement over the House Republican continuing resolution,” though she urged more permanent action on the proposed Office of Management and Budget grant rule before the new Dec. 11 funding deadline proposed in the Senate measure.

House Democrats overwhelmingly rejected Republicans’ bare-bones stopgap last month, with many arguing the legislation allowed for the transfer of further funding to Border Patrol without new restrictions on federal immigration agents sought by Democrats. But Senate Democrats say the new bill would explicitly block any new Border Patrol funding.

Savannah Behrmann contributed to this report.